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i I R 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR 



Primer of Philosophy. Pages, vi, 232. Cloth, 
$1,00. 

The Religion of Science . Pages, vi, 103. 50 
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Homilies of Science . Pages, x, 317. Cloth, gilt 
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The Nature of the State. Pages, xii, 56. Pa- 
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edge. Second edition, enlarged and revised. 
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The Soul of Man. An Investigation of the Facts 
of Physiological and Experimental Psychology. 
With 152 illustrative cuts and diagrams. Pages, 
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THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 

324 DEARBORN ST., CHICAGO. 



THE 



GOSPEL OF BUDDHA 



ACCORDING TO OLD RECORDS 



PAUL CARUS 

n 









Buddham saranam gacchQmi 

Dhammam saranam gacchcimi, 
Sangham saranam gacchami 



it 



CHICAGO 

THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY 
1894 



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copyright by 

The Open Court Publishing Co. 

chicago, illinois, 1894. 



(All rights reserved.) 



PREFACE. 



/ T > HIS booklet needs no preface for him who is familiar with the 
-*- sacred books of Buddhism, which have been made accessible 
to the Western world by the indefatigable zeal and industry of 
scholars like Burnouf, Hodgson, Bigandet, Buhler, Foucaux, Se- 
nart, Weber, Fausboll, Alexander Csoma, Wassiljew, Rhys Davids, 
F. Max Miiller, Childers, Oldenberg, Schiefner, Eitel, Beal, and 
Spence Hardy. To those not familiar with the subject it may be 
stated that the bulk of its contents is derived from the old Buddhist 
canon. Many passages, and indeed the most important ones, are 
literally copied from the translations of the original texts. Some are 
rendered rather freely in order to make them intelligible to the pres- 
ent generation. Others have been rearranged ; still others are ab- 
breviated. Besides the three introductory and the three concluding 
chapters there are only a few purely original additions, which, how- 
ever, are neither mere literary embellishments nor deviations from 
Buddhist doctrines. They contain nothing but ideas for which pro- 
totypes can be found somewhere among the traditions of Buddhism, 
and have been added as elucidations of its main principles. For 
those who want to trace the Buddhism of this book to its fountain- 
head a table of reference has been added, which indicates as briefly 
as possible the main sources of the various chapters and points 
out the parallelisms with Western thought, especially in the Chris- 
tian Gospels. 



VI THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Buddhism, like Christianity, is split up into innumerable sects, 
distinguished mainly by peculiar superstitions or ceremonial rites ; 
and these sects not unfrequently cling to their sectarian tenets as 
being the main and most indispensable features of their religion. 
The present book follows none of the sectarian doctrines, but takes 
an ideal position upon which all true Buddhists may stand as upon 
common ground. Thus the arrangement into harmonious and 
systematic form of this Gospel of Buddha, as a whole, is the main 
original feature of the book. Considering the bulk of its various 
details, however, it must be regarded as a mere compilation, and 
the aim of the compiler has been to treat his material about in the 
same way as he thinks that the author of the Fourth Gospel of the 
New Testament used the accounts of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. 
He has ventured to present the data of Buddha's life in the light of 
their religio-philosophical importance ; he has cut out most of their 
apocryphal adornments, especially those in which the Northern tra- 
ditions abound, yet he did not deem it wise to shrink from preserving 
the marvellous that appears in the old records, whenever its moral 
seemed to justify its mention ; he only pruned the exuberance of 
wonder which delights in relating the most incredible things, appa- 
rently put on to impress, while in fact they can only tire. Mira- 
cles have ceased to be a religious test ; yet the belief in the miracu- 
lous powers of the Master still bears witness to the holy awe of the 
first disciples and reflects their religious enthusiasm. 

Lest the fundamental idea of Buddha's doctrines be misunder- 
stood, the reader is warned to take the term "self" in the sense in 
which Buddha uses it. The "self" of man can be and has been 
understood in a sense to which Buddha would never have made 
any objection. Buddha denies the existence of " self " as it was 
commonly understood in his time ; he does not deny man's men- 
tality, his spiritual constitution, the importance of his personality, 
in a word, his soul. But he does deny the mysterious ego-entity, 
the atman, in the sense of a kind of soul-monad which by some 
schools was supposed to reside behind or within man's bodily and 



PREFACE. Vll 

psychical activity as a distinct being, a kind of thing-in-itself, and 
a metaphysical agent assumed to be the soul.* This philosophical 
superstition, so common not only in India but all over the world, cor- 
responds to man's habitual egotism in practical life ; both are illu- 
sions growing out of the same root, which is the vanity fair of world- 
liness, inducing man to believe that the purpose of his life lies in 
his self. Buddha proposes to cut off entirely all thought of self, so 
that it will no longer bear fruit. Thus Buddha's Nirvana is an 
ideal state, in which man's soul, after being cleansed from all self- 
ishness and sin, has become a habitation of the truth, teaching him 
to distrust the allurements of pleasure and to confine all his ener- 
gies to attending to the duties of life. 

Buddha's doctrine is no negativism. An investigation into the 
nature of man's soul shows that while there is no atman or ego- 
entity, the very being of man consists in his karma, and his karma 
remains untouched by death and continues to live. Thus, by 
denying the existence of that which appears to be our soul and for 
the destruction of which in death we tremble, Buddha actually 
opens (as he expresses it himself) the door of immortality to man- 
kind ; and here lies the corner-stone of his ethics and also of the 
comfort as well as the enthusiasm which his religion imparts. Any 
one who does not see the positive aspect of Buddhism, will be un- 
able to understand how it could exercise such a powerful influence 
upon millions and millions of people. 

The present volume is not designed to contribute to the solu- 
tion of historical problems. The compiler has studied his subject 
as well as he could under given circumstances, but he does not in- 
tend here to offer a scientific production. Nor is this book an 
attempt at popularising the Buddhist religious writings, nor at pre- 
senting them in a poetic shape. If this " Gospel of Buddha " helps 
people to comprehend Buddhism better, and if in its simple style it 
impresses the reader with the poetic grandeur of Buddha's personal- 

*The translation of "atman" by "soul," which implies that Buddha 
denied the existence of the soul, is extremely misleading. 



Vlll THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

ity, these effects must be counted as incidental ; its main purpose 
lies deeper still. The present book has been written to set the 
reader a-thinking on the religious problems of to-day. It presents 
a picture of a religious leader of the remote past with the view of 
making it bear upon the living present and become a factor in the 
formation of the future. 

All the essential moral truths of Christianity are, in our opinion, 
1 deeply rooted in the nature of things, and do not, as is often as- 
sumed, stand in contradiction to the cosmic order of the world. 
They have been formulated by the Church in certain symbols, and 
since these symbols contain contradictions and come in conflict with 
science, the educated classes are estranged from religion. Now, 
Buddhism is a religion which knows of no supernatural revelation, 
and proclaims doctrines that require no other argument than the 
"come and see." Buddha bases his religion solely upon man's 
knowledge of the nature of things, upon provable truth. A com- 
parison of Christianity with Buddhism will be a great help to dis- 
tinguish in both the essential from the accidental, the eternal from 
the transient, the truth from the allegory in which it has found its 
symbolic expression. We are anxious to press the necessity of dis- 
tinguishing between the symbol and its meaning, between dogma 
i and religion, between man-made formulas and eternal truth. This 
is the spirit in which we offer this book to the public, cherishing the 
hope that it will help to develop in Christianity not less than in 
Buddhism the cosmic religion of truth. 

It is a remarkable fact that these two greatest religions of the 
world, Christianity and Buddhism, present so many striking coin- 
cidences in their philosophical basis as well as in the ethical appli- 
cations of their faith, while their modes of systematising them in 
dogmas are radically different. The strength as well as the weak- 
ness of original Buddhism lies in its philosophical character, which 
enabled a thinker, but not the masses, to understand the dispensa- 
tion of the moral law that pervades the world. As such the orig- 
inal Buddhism has been called by Buddhists the little vessel of 



PREFACE. IX 

salvation, or Hinayana ; for it is comparable to a small boat on 
which a man may cross the stream of worldliness so as to reach 
the shore of Nirvana. Following the spirit of a missionary propa- 
ganda, so natural to religious men who are earnest in their con- 
victions, later Buddhists popularised Buddha's doctrines and made 
them accessible to the multitudes. It is true that they admitted 
many mythical and even fantastical notions, but they succeeded 
nevertheless in bringing its moral truths home to the people who 
could but incompletely grasp the philosophical meaning of Buddha's 
religion. They constructed, as they called it, a large vessel of sal- 
vation, the Mahayana, in which the multitudes would find room 
and could be safely carried over. Although the Mahayana unques- 
tionably has its shortcomings, it must not be condemned offhand, 
for it serves its purpose. Without regarding it as the final stage of 
the religious development of the nations among which it prevails, 
we must concede that it resulted from an adaptation to their condi- 
tion and has accomplished much to educate them. The Mahayana 
is a step forward in so far as it changes a philosophy into a religion 
and attempts to preach doctrines that were negatively expressed, in 
positive propositions. 

Far from rejecting the religious zeal which gave rise to the 
Mahayana in Buddhism, we can still less join those who denounce 
Christianity on account of its dogmatology and mythological ingre- 
dients. Christianity is more than a Mahayana, and Christian dog- 
matology too had a mission in the religious evolution of mankind. 
Christianity is more than a large vessel fitted to carry over the 
multitudes of those who embark in it ; it is a grand bridge, a Maha- 
setu, on which a child can cross the stream of selfhood and worldly 
vanity with the same safety as the sage. There is no more charac- 
teristic saying of Christ's than his words : "Suffer little children to 
come unto me." 

A comparison of the many striking agreements between Chris- 
tianity and Buddhism may prove fatal to a sectarian conception of 
Christianity, but will in the end only help to mature our insight 



X THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

into the essential nature of Christianity, and so elevate our reli- 
gious convictions. It will bring out that nobler Christianity which 
aspires to be the cosmic religion of universal truth. 

Let us hope that this Gospel of Buddha will serve both Bud- 
dhists and Christians as a help to penetrate further into the spirit 
of their faith, so as to see its full width, breadth, and depth. 

Above any Hinayana, Mahayana, and Mahasetu is the Reli- 
gion of Truth. 

Paul Carus. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

I. Rejoice i 

II. Samsara and Nirvana .... 2 

III. Truth the Saviour 5 

PRINCE SIDDHARTHA BECOMES BUDDHA. 

IV. Buddha's Birth 7 

V. The Ties of Life . 10 

VI. The Three Woes 11 

VII. Buddha's Renunciation 14 

VIII. King Bimbisara 19 

IX. Buddha's Search 22 

X. Uruvilva, the Place of Mortification 27 

XI. Mara, the Evil One 29 

XII. Enlightenment 30 

XIII. The First Converts 34 

XIV. Brahma's Request 35 

FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

XV. Upaka 37 

XVI. The Sermon at Benares 38 

XVII. The Sangha 43 

XVIII. Yashas, the Youth of Benares 45 

XIX. Sending Out the Disciples 48 

XX. Kashyapa 49 

XXI. The Sermon at Rajagriha 53 

XXII. The King's Gift 57 



Xll THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

PAGE 

XXIII. Shariputra and Maudgalyayana 58 

XXIV. The People Dissatisfied 59 

XXV. Anathapindika 59 

XXVI. The Sermon on Charity 63 

XXVII. Buddha's Father 64 

XXVIII. Yashodhara 66 

XXIX. Rahula • 69 

XXX. Jetavana , 70 

CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 

XXXI. Jivaka, the Physician 75 

XXXII. Buddha's Parents Attain Nirvana 77 

XXXIII. Women Admitted to the Sangha 77 

XXXIV. The Bhikshus' Conduct Toward Women ... 78 
XXXV. Vishakha 79 

XXXVI. The Upavasatha and Pratimoksha 83 

XXXVII. The Schism - . . . 85 

XXXVIII. The Re-establishment of Concord 88 

XXXIX. The Bhikshus Rebuked 94 

XL. Devadatta 95 

XLI. The Goal 98 

XLII. Miracles Forbidden 99 

XLIII. The Vanity of Worldliness 101 

XLIV. Precepts for the Novices 104 

XLV. Rules for the Order 105 

XLVI. The Ten Commandments 105 

XLVII. The Preacher's Mission 107 

BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 

XLVIII. The Dharmapada . in 

XLIX. The Two Brahmans 117 

L. Guard the Six Quarters 122 

LI. Simha's Question Concerning Annihilation . . 124 

LII. All Existence is Spiritual 130 

LIII. Identity and Non-Identity 131 

LIV. Buddha, Not Gautama 140 

LV. One Essence, One Law, One Aim 141 

LVI. The Lesson Given to Rahula 143 

LVII. The Sermon on Abuse 145 



TABLE OF REFERENCE. Xlll 

PAGE 

LVIII. Buddha Replies to the Deva 146 

LIX. Words of Instruction 148 

LX. Amitabha 150 

LXI, The Teacher Unknown 156 

PARABLES AND STORIES. 

LXII. Parables 158 

LXIII. The Burning Mansion 158 

LXIV. The Man Born Blind 159 

LXV. The Lost Son 160 

LXVI. The Giddy Fish 161 

LXVII. The Cruel Crane Outwitted 162 

LXVIII. Four Kinds of Merit 164 

LXIX. The Light of the Word 165 

LXX. Luxurious Living 166 

LXXI. The Communication of Bliss 167 

LXXII. The Listless Fool 168 

LXXIII. Rescue in the Desert 169 

LXXIV. Buddha, the Sower 173 

LXXV. The Outcast 174 

LXXVI. The Woman at the Well . . . 174 

LXXVII. The Peacemaker 175 

LXX VIII. The Hungry Dog 176 

LXXIX. The Despot 178 

LXXX. Vasavadatta 179 

LXXXI. The Marriage-Feast in Jambunada 180 

LXXXII. A Party in Search for a Thief 182 

LXXXIII. In the Realm of Yamaraja 183 

LXXXIV. The Mustard Seed 185 

LXXXV. Following the Master Over the Stream ... 189 

LXXXVI. The Sick Bhikshu . . 190 

THE LAST DAYS. 

LXXXVII. The Conditions of Welfare 192 

LXXXVIII. Upright Conduct 194 

LXXXIX. Pataliputra 194 

XC. Shariputra's Faith 197 

XCL. The Mirror of Truth 199 

XCII. Ambapali 201 



XIV THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

PAGE 

XCIII. Buddha's Farewell Address 204 

XCIV. Buddha Announces His Death 207 

XCV. Chunda, the Smith 211 

XCVI. Maitreya 215 

XCVII. Buddha's Death 218 

CONCLUSION. 

XCVIII. The Three Personalities of Buddha 225 

XCIX. The Purpose of Being 228 

C. The Praise of All the Buddhas 232 



Table of Reference 241 

Abbreviations in the Table of Reference 241 

Glossai y of Names and Terms 243 

Pronunciation 260 

Index 261 



INTRODUCTION. 



I. REJOICE. 



REJOICE at the glad tidings ! Buddha, our Lord, 
has found the root of all evil. He has shown us 
the way of salvation. 1 

Buddha dispels the illusions of our minds and re- 
deems us from the terrors of death. 2 

Buddha, our Lord, brings comfort to the weary 
and sorrow-laden ; he restores peace to those who are 
broken down under the burden of life. He gives cour- 
age to the weak when they would fain give up self- 
reliance and hope. 3 

Ye that suffer from the tribulations of life, ye that 
have to struggle and endure, ye that yearn for a life of 
truth, rejoice at the glad tidings ! 4 

There is balm for the wounded, and there is bread 
for the hungry. There is water for the thirsty, and there 
is hope for the despairing. There is light for those in 
darkness, and there is inexhaustible blessing for the 
upright. 5 

Heal your wounds, ye wounded, and eat your fill, 
ye hungry. Rest, ye weary, and ye who are thirsty 
quench your thirst. Look up to the light, ye that sit 
in darkness ; be full of good cheer, ye that are for- 
lorn. 6 



2 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Trust in truth, ye that love the truth, for the king- 
dom of righteousness is founded upon earth. The 
darkness of error is dispelled by the light of truth. 
We can see our way and make firm and certain steps. 7 

Buddha, our Lord, has revealed the truth. 8 

The truth cures our diseases and redeems us from 
perdition; the truth strengthens us in life and in death ; 
the truth alone can conquer the evils of error. 9 

Rejoice at the glad tidings ! * « 10 



II. SAMSARA AND NIRVANA. 

Look about you and contemplate life ! * 

Everything is transient and nothing endures. There 
is birth and death, growth and decay; there is combi- 
nation and separation. 2 

The glory of the world is like, a flower : it stands 
in full bloom in the morning and fades in the heat of 
the day. 3 

Wherever you look, there is a rushing and a push- 
ing, an eager pursuit of pleasures, a panic flight from 
.pain and death, a vanity i air, and the flames of burn- 
ing desires. The world is full of changes and trans- 
formations. All is Samsara. 4 

Is there nothing permanent in the world? Is there 
in the universal turmoil no resting-place where our 
troubled heart can find peace? Is there nothing ever- 
lasting? 5 

Is there no cessation of anxiety? Can the burning 
desires not be extinguished? When shall the mind be- 
come tranquil and composed? 6 

Buddha, our Lord, was grieved at the ills of life. 
He saw the vanity of worldly happiness and sought 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

salvation in the one thing that will not fade or perish, 
but will abide forever and ever. 7 

Ye who long for life, know that immortality is hid- 
den in transiency. Ye who wish for a happiness that 
contains not the seeds of disappointment or of regret, 
follow the advice of the great Master and lead a life of 
righteousness. Ye who yearn for riches, come and re- 
ceive treasures that are eternal. 8 

The truth is eternal ; it knows neither birth nor 
death; it has no beginning and no end. Hail the 
truth, O mortals! Let the truth take possession of your 
souls. 9 

The truth is the immortal part of mind. The pos- 
session of truth is wealth, and a life of truth is happi- 
ness. 10 

Establish the truth in your mind, for the truth is 
the image of the eternal ; it portrays the immutable ; 
it reveals the everlasting ; the truth gives unto mortals 
the boon of immortality. ~ u 

Buddha is the truth ; let Buddha dwell in your 
heart. Extinguish in your soul every desire that an- 
tagonises Buddha, and in the end of your spiritual evo- 
lution you will become like Buddha. K 

That of your soul which cannot or will not develop 
into Buddha must perish, for it is mere illusion and 
unreal ; it is the source of your error ; it is the cause 
of your misery. ^ 

You can make your soul immortal by filling it with 
truth. Therefore become like unto vessels fit to re- 
ceive the ambrosia of the Master's words. Cleanse 
yourselves of sin and sanctify your lives. There is no 
other way of reaching the truth. 14 

Learn to distinguish between Self and Truth. Self 
is the cause of selfishness and the source of sin ; truth 



4 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

cleaves to no self ; it is universal and leads to justice 
and righteousness. 15 

Self, that which seems to those who love their self 
as their being, is not the eternal, the everlasting, the 
imperishable. Seek not self, but seek the truth. 16 

If we liberate our souls from our petty selves, wish 
no ill to others, and become clear as a crystal diamond 
reflecting the light of truth, what a radiant picture will 
appear in us mirroring things as they are, without the 
admixture of burning desires, without the distortion of 
erroneous illusion, without the agitation of sinful un- 
rest. 17 

He who seeks self must learn to distinguish be- 
tween the false self and the true self. His ego and all 
his egotism are the false self. They are unreal illu- 
sions and perishable combinations. He only who iden- 
tifies his self with the truth will attain Nirvana ; and he 
who has entered Nirvana has attained Buddhahood ; 
he has acquired the highest bliss ; he has become that 
which is eternal and immortal. 18 

All compound things shall be dissolved again, 
worlds will break to pieces and our individualities will 
be scattered ; but the words of Buddha will remain 
forever. 19 

The extinction of self is salvation ; the annihilation 
of self is the condition of enlightenment ; the blotting 
out of self is Nirvana. Happy is he who has ceased to 
live for pleasure and rests in the truth. Verily his com- 
posure and tranquillity of mind are the highest bliss. 20 

Let us take our refuge in Buddha, for he has found 
the everlasting in the transient. Let us take our refuge 
in that which is the immutable in the changes of exist- 
ence. Let us take our refuge in the truth that is es- 
tablished through the enlightenment of Buddha. 21 



INTRODUCTION. 



III. TRUTH THE SAVIOUR. 



The things of the world and its inhabitants are sub- 
ject to change ; they are products of things that ex- 
isted before ; all living creatures are what their past 
actions made them ; for the law of cause and effect is 
uniform and without exceptions. x 

But in the changing things truth lies hidden. Truth 
makes things real. Truth is the permanent in change. 2 

And truth desires to appear ; truth longs to become 
conscious ; truth strives to know itself. 3 

There is truth in the stone, for the stone is here ; 
and no power in the world, no God, no man, no de- 
mon, can destroy its existence. But the stone has no 
consciousness. 4 

There is truth in the plant and its life can expand ; 
the plant grows and blossoms and bears fruit. Its 
beauty is marvellous, but it has no consciousness. 5 

There is truth in the animal ; it moves about and 
perceives its surroundings ; it distinguishes and learns 
to choose. There is consciousness, but it is not yet the 
consciousness of Truth. It is a consciousness of self 
only. 6 

The consciousness of self dims the eyes of the mind 
and hides the truth. It is the origin of error, it is the 
source of illusion, it is the germ of sin. 7 

Self begets selfishness. There is no evil but what 
flows from self. There is no wrong but what is done by 
the assertion of self. 8 

Self is the beginning of all hatred, of iniquity and 
slander, of impudence and indecency, of theft and rob- (/ 
bery, of oppression and bloodshed. Self is Mara, the 
tempter, the evil-doer, the creator of mischief. 9 



6 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Self entices with pleasures. Self promises a fairy's 
paradise. Self is the veil of Maya, the enchanter. But 
the pleasures of self are unreal, its paradisian labyrinth 
is the road to hell and its fading beauty kindles the 
flames of desires that never can be satisfied. 10 

Who shall loosen us from the power of self ? Who 
shall save us from misery? Who shall restore us to a 
life of blessedness ? u 

There is misery in the world of Samsara ; there is 
much misery and pain. But greater than all the misery 
is the bliss of truth. Truth gives peace to the yearn- 
ing mind ; it conquers error ; it quenches the flames 
of desire and leads to Nirvana. 12 

Blessed is he who has found the peace of Nirvana. 
He is at rest in the struggles and tribulations of life ; 
he is above all changes ; he is above birth and death ; 
he remains unaffected by the evils of life. 13 

Blessed is he who has become an embodiment of 
truth, for he has accomplished his purpose and is one 
with himself and truth. He conquers although he may 
be wounded ; he is glorious and happy, although he 
may suffer ; he is strong, although he may break down 
under the burden of his work ; he is immortal, although 
he may die. The essence of his soul is immortality. 14 

Blessed is he who has attained the sacred state of 
Buddhahood, for he is fit to work out the salvation of 
his fellow-beings. The truth has made its abode in him. 
Perfect wisdom illumines his understanding, and right- 
eousness ensouls the purpose of all his actions. 15 

The truth is a living power for good, indestructible 
and invincible ! Work the truth out in your mind, and 
spread it among mankind, for Truth alone is the sa- 
viour from sin and misery. The Truth is Buddha, and 
Buddha is the Truth ! Blessed be Buddha ! 16 



PRINCE SIDDHARTHA BECOMES 
BUDDHA. 



IV. BUDDHA'S BIRTH. 

THERE was in Kapilavastu a Shaky a king, strong 
of purpose and reverenced by all men, a de- 
scendant of the Ikshvaku, who call themselves Gau- 
tama, and his name was Shuddhodana or Pure-Rice. 1 

His wife Maya-devi was beautiful as the water-lily 
and pure in mind as the lotus. As the Queen of Heaven, 
she lived on earth, untainted by desire, and immacu- 
late. 2 

The king, her husband, honored her in her holi- 
ness and the spirit of truth descended upon her. 3 

When she knew that the hour of motherhood was 
near, she asked the king to send her home to her 
parents; and Shuddhodana, anxious about his wife and 
the child she would bear him, willingly granted her 
request. 4 

While she passed through the garden of Lumbini, 
the hour arrived ; her couch was placed under a lofty 
satin-tree and the child came forth from the womb like 
the rising sun, bright and perfect. 5 

All the worlds were flooded with light. The blind 
received their sight by longing to see the coming glory 



8 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

of the Lord ; the deaf and dumb spoke with one another 
of the good omens indicating the birth of Buddha. 
The crooked became straight ; the lame walked. All 
prisoners were freed from their chains and the fires of 
all the hells were extinguished. 6 

No clouds gathered in the skies and the polluted 
streams became clear, whilst celestial music rang 
through the air and the angels rejoiced with gladness. 
With no selfish or partial joy but for the sake of the 
law they rejoiced, for creation engulfed in the ocean of 
pain was now to obtain release. 7 

The cries of beasts were hushed ; all malevolent 
beings received a loving heart, and peace reigned on 
earth. Mara, the evil one, alone was grieved and re- 
joiced not. 8 

The Naga kings, earnestly desiring to show their 
reverence for the most excellent law, as they had paid 
honor to former Buddhas, now went to meet Bodhi- 
sattva. They scattered before him mandara flowers, 
rejoicing with heartfelt joy to pay their religious hom- 
age. 9 

The royal father, pondering the meaning of these 
signs, was now full of joy and now sore distressed. 10 

The queen mother, beholding her child and the 
commotion which his birth created, felt in her timor- 
ous woman's heart the pangs of doubt. n 

At her couch stood an aged woman imploring the 
heavens to bless the child. 12 

Now there was at that time in the grove Asita, a 
rishi, leading the life of a hermit. He was a Brahman 
of dignified mien, famed not only for wisdom and 
scholarship, but also for his skill in the interpretation 
of signs. And the king invited him to see the royal 
child. 13 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 9 

The seer, beholding the prince, wept and sighed 
deeply. And when the king saw the tears of Asita he 
became alarmed and asked : "Why has the sight of 
my son caused thee grief and pain ? " 14 

But Asita's heart rejoiced, and, knowing the king's 
mind to be perplexed, he addressed him, saying : 15 

"The king, like the moon when full, should feel 
great joy, for he has begotten a wondrously noble son. J6 

"I do not worship Brahma, but I worship this 
child ; and the gods in the temples will descend from 
their places of honor to adore him. 17 

" Banish all anxiety and doubt. The spiritual 
omens manifested indicate that the child now born will 
bring deliverance to the whole world. 18 

"Recollecting I myself am old, on that account I 
could not hold my tears ; for now my end is coming on. 
But this son of thine will rule the world. He is born 
for the sake of all that lives. 19 

"His pure teaching will be like the shore that re- 
ceives the shipwrecked. His power of meditation will 
be like the cool lake ; and all creatures parched with 
the drought of lust may freely drink thereof. 20 

"On the fire of covetousness he will cause the cloud 
of his mercy to rise, so that the rain of the law may 
extinguish it. 21 

"The heavy gates of despondency he will open, 
and give deliverance to all creatures ensnared in the 
self-twined meshes of folly and ignorance. ,22 

" The king of the law has come forth to rescue from 
bondage all the poor, the miserable, the helpless." 23 

When the royal parents heard Asita's words they 
rejoiced in their hearts and named their new-born in- 
fant Siddhartha, that is, "he who has accomplished 
his purpose." 24 



10 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

And the queen said to her sister, Prajapati : "A 
mother who has borne a future Buddha will never give 
birth to another child. I shall soon leave this world, 
my husband the king, and Siddhartha, my child. When 
I am gone, be thou a mother to him." 25 

And Prajapati wept and promised. 

When the queen had departed from the living, Pra- 
japati took the boy Siddhartha and reared him. And 
as the light of the moon little by little increases, so the 
royal child grew from day to day in mind and in body; 
and truthfulness and love resided in his heart. 27 



V. THE TIES OF LIFE. 

When Siddhartha had grown to youth, his father 
desired to see him married, and he sent to all his kins- 
folk, commanding them to bring their princesses that 
the prince might select one among them as his wife. * 

But the kinsfolk replied and said : "The prince is 
young and delicate ; nor has he learned any of the 
sciences. He would not be able to maintain our daugh- 
ter, and should there be war he would be unable to 
cope with the enemy. " 2 

The prince was not boisterous, but pensive in his 
nature. He loved to stay under the great jambu-tree 
in the garden of his father, and, observing the ways of 
the world, gave himself up to meditation. 3 

And the prince said to his father : " Invite our kins- 
folk that they may see me and put my strength to the 
test." And his father did as his son bade him. 4 

When the kinsfolk came, and the people of the city 
Kapilavastu had assembled to test the prowess and 
scholarship of the prince, he proved himself manly in 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. II 

all the exercises of the body as well as of the mind, 
and there was no rival among the youths and men of 
India who could surpass him in any test of body or of 
mind. 5 

He replied to all the questions of the sages ; but 
when he questioned them, even the wisest among them 
were silenced. 6 

Then Siddhartha chose himself a wife. He se- 
lected Yashodhara, his cousin, the gentle daughter of 
the king of Koli. And Yashodhara was betrothed to 
the prince. 7 

In their wedlock was born a son whom they named 
Rahula, and King Shuddhodana, glad that an heir was 
born to his son, said : 8 

"The prince having begotten a son, will love him 
as I love the prince. This will be a strong tie to bind 
Siddhartha's heart to the interests of the world, and 
the kingdom of the Shakyas will remain under the 
sceptre of my descendants." 9 

With no selfish aim, but regarding his child and the 
people at large, Siddhartha, the prince, attended to 
his religious duties, bathing his body in the holy Gan- 
ges and cleansing his heart in the waters of the law. 
Even as men desire to give peace to their children, so 
did he long to give rest to the world. 10 

VI. THE THREE WOES. 

The palace which the king had given to the prince 
was resplendent with all the luxuries of India ; for the 
king was anxious to see his son" happy. 1 

All sorrowful sights, all misery, and all knowledge 
of misery were kept away from Siddhartha, and he knew 
not that there was evil in the world. 2 



12 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

But as the chained elephant longs for the wilds of 
the jungles, so the prince was eager to see the world, 
and he asked his father, the king, for permission to do 
so, 3 

And Shuddhodana ordered a jewel-fronted chariot 
with four stately horses to be held ready, and com- 
manded the roads to be adorned where his son would 
pass. 4 

The houses of the city were decorated with curtains 
and banners, and spectators arranged themselves on 
either side, eagerly gazing at the heir to the throne. 
Thus Siddhartha rode with Channa, his charioteer, 
through the streets of the city, and into a country 
watered by rivulets and covered with pleasant trees. 5 

There they met an old man by the wayside. The 
prince, seeing the bent frame, the wrinkled face, and 
the sorrowful brow, said to the charioteer : "Who is 
this? His head is white, his eyes are bleared, and his 
body is withered. He can barely support himself on 
his staff." G 

The charioteer, much embarrassed, hardly dared 
to answer the truth. He said : "These are the symp- 
toms of old age. This same man was once a suckling 
child, and as a youth full of sportive life ; but now, as 
years have passed away, his beauty is gone and the 
strength of his life is wasted." 7 

Siddhartha was greatly affected by the words of the 
charioteer, and he sighed because of the pain of old 
age. "What joy or pleasure can men take," he 
thought to himself, "when they know they must soon 
wither and pine away! " 8 

And lo ! while they were passing on, a sick man 
appeared on the way-side, gasping for breath, his body 
disfigured, convulsed and groaning with pain. 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 13 

The prince asked his charioteer : "What kind of 
man is this?" And the charioteer replied and said: 
"This man is sick. The four elements of his body 
are confused and out of order. We are all subject to 
such conditions : the poor and the rich, the ignorant 
and the wise, all creatures that have bodies, are liable 
to the same calamity. " 10 

And Siddhartha was still more moved. All pleas- 
ures appeared stale to him and he loathed the joys of 
life. n 

The charioteer sped the horses on to escape the 
dreary sight when suddenly they were stopped in their 
fiery course. 12 

Four persons passed by carrying a corpse ; and the 
prince, shuddering at the sight of a lifeless body, 
asked the charioteer: "What is this they carry? 
There are streamers and flower garlands ; but the men 
that follow are overwhelmed with grief ! " 13 

The charioteer replied : < ' That is a dead m an : His 
body is stark ; his life is gone ; his thoughts are still ; 
his family and the friends who loved him now carry 
the corpse to the grave." 14 

And the prince was full of awe and terror : "Is 
this the only man," he asked, " or does the world con- 
tain other instances ? " 15 

With a heavy heart the charioteer replied : "All 
over the world it is the same. He who begins life 
must end it. There is no escape from death." 16 

With bated breath and stammering accents the 
prince exclaimed: "O worldly men ! How fatal is 
your delusion ! Inevitably your body will crumble to 
dust, yet carelessly, unheedingly, you live on. " 17 

The charioteer observing the deep impression these 



14 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA 

sad sights had made on the prince, turned his horses 
and drove back to the city. 18 

When they passed by the palace of the nobility, 
Krisha Gautami, a young princess and niece of the king, 
saw Siddhartha in his manliness and beauty, and, ob- 
serving the thoughtfulness of his countenance, said : 
" Happy the father that begot you, happy the mother 
that nursed you, happy the wife that calls husband this 
lord so glorious." 19 

The prince hearing this greeting, said: " Happy 
are they that have found deliverance. " Longing for 
peace of mind, I shall seek the bliss of Nirvana. And 
handing her his precious pearl necklace as a reward for 
the instruction she had given him, he returned home. 20 

Siddhartha looked with disdain upon the treasures 
of his palace. His wife welcomed him and entreated 
him to tell her the cause of his grief ; and he said : "I 
see everywhere the impression of change ; therefore, 
my heart is heavy. Men grow old, sicken, and die. 
That is enough to take away the zest of life." 21 

The king, his father, hearing that the heart of the 
prince had become estranged from pleasure, was greatly 
overcome with sorrow, and like a sword it pierced his 
heart. 22 

VII. BUDDHA'S RENUNCIATION. 

It was night. The prince found no rest on his 
soft pillow ; he arose and went out into the garden. 
"Alas I" he cried, "for all the world is full of dark- 
ness and ignorance j there is no one who knows how 
to cure the ills of existence." And he groaned with 
pain. x 

Siddhartha sat down beneath the great jambu-tree 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 1 5 

and gave himself to thought, pondering on life and 
death and the evils of decay. Concentrating his mind 
he became free from confusion. All low desires van- 
ished from his heart and perfect tranquillity came over 
him. 2 

In this state of ecstasy he saw with his mental eye 
all the misery and sorrow of the world ; he saw the 
pains of pleasure and the inevitable certainty of death 
that hovers over every being. Yet men are not awak- 
ened to the truth. And a deep compassion seized his 
heart. 3 

While the prince was pondering on the problem of 
evil, he beheld with his mind's eye under the jambu- 
tree a lofty figure endowed with majesty, calm and dig- 
nified. " Whence dost thou come, and who art thou?" 
asked the prince. 4 

In reply the vision said: "lam a shramana. Trou- 
bled at the thought of old age, disease, and death I have 
left my home to seek the path of salvation. All things 
hasten to decay; only the truth abideth forever. Every- 
thing changes, and there is no permanency; yet the 
words of Buddhas are immutable. I long for the hap- 
piness that does not decay; the treasure that will never 
perish ; the life that knows of no beginning and no 
end. Therefore, I have destroyed all worldly thought. 
I have retired into an unfrequented dell to live in 
solitude ; and, begging for food, I devote myself to the 
one thing that is needed." 5 

Siddhartha asked: "Can peace be gained in this 
world of unrest? I am struck with the emptiness of 
pleasure and have become disgusted with lust. All 
oppresses me, and existence itself seems intolerable." 6 

The shramana replied: "Where heat is, there is 
also a possibility of cold ; creatures subject to pain, 



l6 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

possess the faculty of pleasure ; the origin of evil in- 
dicates that good can be developed. For these things 
are correlatives. Thus where there is much suffering, 
there will be much bliss, if you but open your eyes to 
find it. Just as a man who has fallen into a heap of 
filth ought to seek the great pond of water covered 
with lotuses, which is near by: even so seek thou for 
the great deathless lake of Nirvana to wash off the de- 
filement of sin. If the lake is not sought, it is not the 
fault of the lake ; even so when there is a blessed road 
leading the man held fast by sin to the salvation of 
Nirvana, it is not the fault of the road, but of the per- 
son. And when a man who is oppressed with sickness, 
there being a physician who can heal him, does not 
avail himself of the physician's help, that is not the fault 
of the physician ; even so when a man oppressed by 
the malady of evil-doing does not seek the spiritual 
guide of enlightenment, that is no fault of the sin- 
destroying guide." 7 

The prince listened to the noble words of his visi- 
tor and said: "You bring good tidings, for now I 
know that my purpose will be accomplished. My 
father advises me to enjoy life and to undertake worldly 
duties, such as will bring honor to me and my house. 
He tells me that I am too young still, that my pulse 
beats too full to lead a religious life. 

The venerable figure shook his head and replied : 
"You ought to know that for seeking true religion 
there is never a time that can be inopportune." 

A thrill of joy passed through Siddhartha's heart. 
"Now is the time to seek religion," he said, "now is 
the time to sever all ties that would prevent me from 
attaining perfect enlightenment ; now is the time to 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 1/ 

wander into the wilderness and, leading a mendicant's 
life, to find the path of deliverance." 10 

The celestial messenger heard the resolution of 
Siddhartha with approval. u 

"Now, indeed," he added, "is the time to seek 
religion. Go out Siddhartha and accomplish your pur- 
pose. For thou art Bodhisattva the Buddha-elect ; 
thou art destined to enlighten the world. 12 

"Thou art Tathagata, the perfect one, for thou wilt 
fulfil all righteousness and be dharma-raja, the king 
of truth. Thou art Bhagavat, the Blessed one, for thou 
art called upon to become the saviour and redeemer of 
the world. 13 

"Do thou fulfil the perfection of truth. Though the 
thunderbolt descend upon thy head, yield thou never 
to the allurements that beguile men from the path of 
truth. As the sun at all seasons pursues his own 
course, nor ever goes on another, even so if thou for- 
sake not the straight path of righteousness, thou shalt 
become a Buddha. 14 

"Persevere in thy quest and thou shalt find what 
thou seekest. Pursue thy aim unswervingly and thou 
shalt reach the prize. Struggle earnestly and thou 
shalt conquer. The benediction of all deities, of all 
saints, of all that seek light is upon thee, and heavenly 
wisdom guides thy steps. Thou shalt be the Buddha, 
our Master, and our Lord ; thou wilt enlighten the 
world and save mankind from perdition." 15 

Having thus spoken, the vision vanished and Sid- 
dhartha's soul was filled with peace. He said to him- 
self : 16 

"I have awakened to the truth and I am resolved 
to accomplish my purpose. I will sever all the ties 



1 8 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

that bind me to the world, and I will go out from my 
home to seek the way of salvation. 17 

"The Buddhas are beings whose words cannot fail : 
there is no departure from truth in their speech. ^ 

" For as the fall of a stone thrown into the air, as 
the death of a mortal, as the sunrise at dawn, as the 
lion's roaring when he leaves his lair, as the delivery 
of a woman with child, as all these things are sure and 
certain — even so the word of the Buddhas is sure and 
cannot fail. B 

"Verily I shall become a Buddha." 20 

The prince returned to the bedroom of his wife to 
take a last farewell glance at those whom he dearly 
loved above alHhe treasures of the earth. He longed 
to take the boy once more into his arms and kiss him 
with a parting kiss. But the child lay in the arms of 
its mother and he could not lift the boy without awak- 
ing both. 21 

There Siddhartha stood gazing at his beautiful wife 
and his beloved son, and his heart grieved. The pain 
of parting overcame him powerfully. Although his 
mind was determined so that nothing, be it good or 
evil, could shake his resolution, the tears came freely 
from his eyes, and it was beyond his power to check 
or suppress their stream. 22 

The prince tore himself away with a manly heart, 
suppressing his feelings but not extinguishing his mem- 
ory. He mounted his steed Kanthaka, and finding the 
gates of the castle wide open, he went out into the 
silent night, accompanied only by his faithful charioteer 
Channa. 23 

Thus Siddhartha, the prince, renounced worldly 
pleasures, gave up his kingdom, severed all ties, and 
went into homelessness. ' M 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 19 

Darkness lay upon the earth, but the stars shone 
brightly in the heavens. ^ 

VIII. KING BIMBISARA. 

Siddhartha had cut his waving hair and had ex- 
changed his royal robe for a mean dress of the color of 
the ground. Having sent home Channa, the charioteer, 
together with the noble mare Kanthaka, to king Shud- 
dhodana to bear him the message that the prince had 
left the world, Bodhisattva walked along on the high- 
road with a beggar's bowl in his hand. x 

Yet the majesty of his mind was ill-concealed under 
the poverty of his appearance. His erect gait betrayed 
his royal birth and his eyes beamed with a fervid zeal 
for truth. The beauty of his youth was transfigured 
by holiness that surrounded his head like a halo. 2 

All the people who saw this unusual sight gazed at 
him in wonder. Those who were in a haste arrested 
their steps and looked back ; and there was no one who 
did not pay him homage. 3 

Having entered the city of Rajagriha, the prince 
went from house to house silently waiting till the peo- 
ple offered him food. Wherever the Blessed One came, 
the people gave him what they had ; they bowed be- 
fore him modestly and were filled with gratitude be- 
cause he condescended to approach their home. 4 

Old and young people were moved and said : " This 
is a noble muni ! His approach is bliss. What a great 
joy for us ! " 5 

And king Bimbisara noticing the commotion in the 
city inquired for the cause of it, and learning the news 
sent one of his attendants to observe the stranger. 6 

Having heard that the muni must be a Shakya and of 



\ 



20 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

noble family, and that he had retired to the bank of a 
flowing river in the woods to eat the food in his bowl, 
the king was moved in his heart ; he donned his royal 
robe, placed his gold crown on his head and went out 
in the company of aged and wise counselors to meet 
his mysterious guest. 7 

The king found the muni of the Shakya race seated 
under a tree. Contemplating the composure of his 
face and the gentleness of his deportment, Bimbisara 
greeted him reverently and said.. 8 

" O shram ana, your hands are fit to grasp the reins 
of an empire and should not hold a beggar's bowl. I 
pity your youth. If I did not think you were of royal 
descent, I should request you to join me in the gov- 
ernment of my country and share my royal power. De- 
sire for power is becoming to the noble-minded, and 
wealth should not be despised. To grow rich and lose 
religion is not true gain. But he who possesses all 
three, power, wealth, and religion, enjoying them in 
discretion and with wisdom, him I call a great mas- 
ter." 9 

The great Shakyamuni lifted his eyes and replied : 10 

" You are known, O king, as liberal and religious, 
and your words are prudent. A kind man who makes 
good use of wealth is rightly said to possess a great 
treasure ; but the miser who hoards up his riches will 
have no profit. n 

"Charity is rich in returns ; charity is the greatest 
wealth, for though it scatters, it brings no repen- 
tance. 12 

" I have severed all ties because I seek deliverance. 
How is it possible for me to return to the world? He 
who seeks religious truth, which is the highest treas- 
ure of all, must leave behind all that can concern him 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 2 I 

or draw away his attention, and must be bent upon 
that one goal alone. He must free his soul from cov- 
etousness and lust, and also of the desire for power. 13 

" Indulge in lust but a little, and lust like a child 
will grow. Wield worldly power and you will be bur- 
dened with cares. M 

"Better than sovereignty over the earth, better 
than living in heaven, better than lordship over all the 
worlds, is the fruit of holiness. 15 

"Bodhisattva has recognised the illusory nature 
of wealth and will not take poison as food. 16 

" Shall the baited fish still covet the hook, or the 
captive bird be enamoured of the net? 17 

"The sick man suffering from fever seeks for a 
cooling medicine. Shall we advise him to drink that 
which will increase the fever? Shall we quench a fire 
by heaping on it fuel? 18 

" I pray you, pity me not. Pity rather those who 
are burdened with the cares of royalty and the sorrows 
of great riches. They enjoy them tremblingly, for they 
are constantly threatened with a loss of those boons 
on the possession of which their hearts are set, and 
when they die they cannot take along either their gold 
or the kingly diadem. What is the preference of a 
dead king over a dead beggar? 19 

"Would a rabbit rescued from the serpent's mouth 
go back to be devoured? Would a man who burned 
his hand with a torch take it up after he had dropped 
it to the earth? Would a blind man who has recovered 
his sight desire to spoil his eyes again? 20 

"My heart hankers after no vulgar profit, so I have 
put away my royal diadem and prefer to be free from 
the burdens of life. 21 

"Therefore do not try to entangle me in new rela- 



22 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

tionship and duties, nor hinder me from completing the 
work I have begun. 22 

"I regret to leave you. But I will go to the sages 
who can teach me religion and so find the path on which 
we can escape evil. K 

"May your country enjoy peace and prosperity, 
and may wisdom be shed upon your rule like the 
brightness of the meridian sun. May your ro)^al power 
be strong and may righteousness be the sceptre in your 
hand." 24 

The king, clasping his hands with reverence, bowed 
down before Shakyamuni and said : " May you obtain 
that which you seek, and, having obtained it, come 
back, I pray you, and receive me as your disciple." 25 

Bodhisattva parted from the king in friendship and 
good-will, and he purposed in his heart to grant his 
request. 2G 

IX. BUDDHA'S SEARCH. 

Arada and Udraka were renowned as teachers 
among the Brahmans, and there was no one in those 
days who surpassed them in learning and philosoph- 
ical knowledge. x 

Bodhisattva went to them and sat at their feet. 
He listened to their doctrines of the atman or self, 
which is the ego of the mind and the doer of all doings. 
He learned their views of the transmigration of souls 
and of the law of karma ; how the souls of bad men 
had to suffer by being reborn in men of low caste, 
in animals, or in hell, while those who purified them- 
selves by libations, by sacrifices, and by self-mortifica- 
tion would become kings, or Brahmans, or devas, so 
as to rise higher and higher in the grades of existence. 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 23 

He studied their incantations and offerings and the 
methods by which they attained deliverance of the ego 
from material existence in states of ecstasy. 2 

Arada said : "What is that self which perceives 
the actions of the five roots of mind, touch, smell, 
taste, sight, and hearing? What is that which is active 
in the two ways of motion, in the hands and in the 
feet? The problem of the soul appears in the expres- 
sions '/ say,' '/know and perceive,' '/come, 'and '/ 
go' or '/ will stay here.' Thy soul is not thy body; 
it is not thy e} T e, not thy ear, not thy nose, not thy 
tongue ; nor is it thy mind. The / is he who feels the 
touch in thy body. The / is the smeller in the nose, 
the taster in the tongue, the seer in the eye, the hearer 
in the ear, and the thinker in the mind. The / moves 
thy hands and thy feet. The / is thy soul. Doubt 
in the existence of the soul is irreligious, and with- 
out discerning this truth there is no way of salvation. 
Deep speculation will easily involve the mind ; it leads 
to confusion and unbelief; but a purification of the 
soul leads to the way of escape. True deliverance is*)^^ / 
reached by removing from the crowd and leading a her- 
mit's life, depending entirely on alms for food. Putting 
away all desire and clearly recognising the non-existence 
of matter, we reach a state of perfect emptiness. Here 
we find the condition of immaterial life. As the munja- 
grass when freed from its horny case, or as the wild 
bird escapes from its prison, so the ego liberating itself 
from all limitations, finds perfect release. This is true 
deliverance, but those only who will have deep faith 
will learn." 3 

Bodhisattva found no satisfaction in these teach- 
ings. He replied : "People are in bondage, because 
they have not yet removed the idea of /. 4 



24 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"The thing and its quality are different in our 
thought, but not in reality. Heat is different from fire 
in our thought, but you cannot remove heat from fire 
in reality. You say that you can remove the qualities 
and leave the thing, but if you think your theory to 
the end, you will find that this is not so. 5 

"Is not man an organism of many aggregates? Do 
we not consist of various skandhas, as our sages call 
them? Man consists of the material form, of sensation, 
of thought, of dispositions, and, lastly, of understand- 
ing. That which men call the ego when they say 1 1 
am ' is not an entity behind the skandhas ; it originates 
by the co-operation of the skandhas. There is mind ; 
there is sensation and thought, and there is truth ; and 
truth is mind when it walks in the path of righteousness. 
But there is no separate ego-soul outside or behind the 
thought of man. He who believes that the ego is a dis- 
tinct being has no correct conception of things. The 
very search for the atman is wrong ; it is a wrong start 
and it will lead you in the false direction. 6 

"How much confusion of thought comes from our 
interest in self, and from our vanity when thinking *I 
am so great,' or 1 1 have done this wonderful deed ?' 
The thought of your / stands between your rational 
nature and truth ; banish it, and then you will see 
things as they are. He who thinks correctly will rid 
himself of ignorance and acquire wisdom. The ideas 
'/ am ' and '/ shall be ' or *f shall not be ' do not oc- 
cur to a clear thinker. 7 

"Moreover, if your ego remains, how can you at- 
tain true deliverance ? If the ego is to be reborn in any 
of the three worlds, be it in hell, upon earth, or be it 
even in heaven, we shall meet again and again the 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 2$ 

same inevitable doom of existence. We shall be im- 
plicated in egotism and sin. 8 

"All combination is subject to separation, and we 
cannot escape birth, disease, old age, and death. Is 
this a final escape? " 9 

Udraka said : " Do you not see around you the ef- 
fects of karma? What makes men different in character, 
station, possessions, and fate? It is their karma, and 
karma includes merit and demerit. The transmigra- 
tion of the soul is subject to its karma. We inherit 
from former existences the evil effects of our evil deeds 
and the good effects of our good deeds. If that were 
not so, how could we be different? " 10 

The Tathagata meditated deeply on the problems 
of transmigration and karma, and found the truth that 
lies in them. u 

"The doctrine of karma," he said, "is undeniable, 
for every effect has its cause. What a man soweth he 
shall reap, and what we reap we must have sown in 
our previous lives. ^ 

"I see that the transmission of soul is subject to 
the law of cause and effect, for the fates of men are 
of their own making. But I see no transmigration of 
the /. 13 

"Is not this individuality of mine a combination, 
material as well as mental? Is it not made up of qual- 
ities that sprang into being by a gradual evolution. 
The five roots of sense-perception in this organism have 
come from ancestors who performed these functions. 
The ideas which I think, came to me partly from others 
who thought them, and partly they rise from combina- 
tions of these ideas in my own mind. Those who used 
the same sense-organs, and thought the same ideas 
before I was composed into this individuality of mine 



26 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

are my previous existences ; they are my ancestors as 
much as I of yesterday am the father of I of to-day, 
and the karma of my past deeds conditions the fate of 
my present existence. 14 

" Supposing there were an atman that performs the 
actions of the senses, then if the door of sight were 
torn down and the eye plucked out, that atman would 
be able to peep through the larger aperture and see the 
forms of its surroundings better and more clearly than 
before. It would be able to hear sounds better, if the 
ears were torn away; smell better, if the nose were cut 
off; taste better, if the tongue were pulled out ; and 
feel better if the body were destroyed. 15 

"I observe the preservation and transmission of 
soul ; I perceive the truth of karma, but see no atman 
whom your doctrine makes the doer of your deeds. 
There is rebirth without the transmigration of self. 
For this atman, this self, this ego in the '/ say ' and 
in the '/will ' is an illusion. If this self were a reality, 
how could there be an escape from selfhood? The 
terror of hell would be infinite, and no release could 
be granted. The evils of existence would not be due 
to our ignorance and sin, but would constitute the very 
nature of our being." 16 

And Bodhisattva went to the priests officiating in 
the temples. But the gentle mind of the Shakyamuni 
was offended at the unnecessary cruelty performed on 
the altars of the gods. He said : 17 

*' Ignorance only can make these men prepare festi- 
vals and vast meetings for sacrifices. Far better to 
revere the truth than try to appease the gods by the 
shedding of blood. 18 

1 ' What love can a man possess who believes that the 
destruction of life will atone for evil deeds? Can a new 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 27 

wrong expiate old wrongs? And can the slaughter of 
an innocent victim take away the sins of mankind? 
This is practising religion by the neglect of moral con- 
duct. 19 

" Purify your hearts and cease to kill ; that is true 
religion. 20 

" Rituals_ have no efficacy; prayers are vain repeti- \/ 
tions ; and incantations have no saving power. But to 
abandon covetousness and lust, to become free from 
evil passions, and to give up all hatred and ill-will, that 
is the right sacrifice and the true worship. " 21 



X. URUVILVA, THE PLACE OF MORTIFICATION. 

Bodhisattva went in search of a better system and 
came to a settlement of five bhikshus in the jungle of 
Uruvilva ; and when the Blessed One saw the life of 
those five men, virtuously keeping in check their 
senses, subduing their passions, and practising austere 
self-discipline, he admired their earnestness and joined 
their company. * 

With holy zeal and a strong heart, Shakyamuni 
gave himself up to mortification and thoughtful medi- 
tation. While the five bhikshus were severe, Shakya- 
muni was severer still, and they revered him as their 
master. 2 

So Bodhisattva continued for six years patiently 
torturing himself and suppressing the wants of nature. 
He trained his body and exercised his mind in the 
modes of the most rigorous ascetic life. At last he ate 
each day one hemp-grain only, seeking to cross the 
ocean of birth and death and to arrive at the shore of 
deliverance. 3 



28 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Bodhisattva was shrunken and attenuated, and his 
body was like a withered branch ; but the fame of his 
holiness spread in the surrounding countries, and peo- 
ple came from great distances to see him and receive 
his blessing. 4 

However, the Holy One was not satisfied. Seek- 
ing true wisdom he did not find it, and he came to the 
conclusion that mortification would not extinguish de- 
sire and afford enlightenment in ecstatic contempla- 
tion. 5 

Seated beneath a jambu-tree, he considered the 
state of his mind and the fruits of his mortification. 
My body has become weaker and weaker, he thought, 
and my fasts have not advanced me in my search for 
salvation. This is not the right path. I should rather 
try to strengthen my body by drink and food and thus 
enable my mind to seek composure. 6 

He went to bathe in the river, but when he strove 
to leave the water he could not rise on account of his 
weakness. Then espying the branch of a tree and 
taking hold of it, he raised himself and left the river. 7 

While the Blessed One was walking to return to 
his abode, he staggered and fell to the ground, and the 
five bhikshus thought he was dead. 8 

There was a chief herdsman living near the grove 
whose eldest daughter was called Nanda ; and Nanda 
happened to pass by the spot where the Blessed One 
had swooned, and bowing down before him she offered 
him rice-milk and he accepted the gift. 9 

Having eaten, all his limbs were refreshed, his 
mind became clear again, and he was strong to receive 
the highest enlightenment. 10 

After this occurrence, Bodhisattva partook again of 
food. His disciples having witnessed the scene of 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 29 

Nanda and observing the change in his mode of living, 
were filled with suspicion. They were convinced that 
Siddhartha's religious zeal was flagging and that he 
whom they had hitherto revered as their Master had 
become oblivious of his high purpose. 1] 

Bodhisattva when he saw the bhikshus turning away 
from him, felt sorry for their lack of confidence, and 
he was aware of the loneliness in which he lived. 12 

Suppressing his grief he wandered on alone and his 
disciples said, " Siddhartha leaves us to seek a more 
pleasant abode." 13 

XI. MARA THE EVIL ONE. 

The Holy One directed his steps to that blessed 
Bodhi-tree beneath whose shade he should accomplish 
his search. 1 

As he walked, the earth shook and a brilliant light 
transfigured the world. 2 

When he sat down the heavens resounded with joy 
and all living beings were filled with good cheer. 3 

Mara alone, lord of the five desires, bringer of death 
and enemy of truth, was grieved and rejoiced not. 
With his three daughters, the tempters, and with his 
host of evil demons, he went to the place where the 
great shramana sat. But Shakyamuni minded him not. 4 

Mara uttered fear-inspiring threats and raised a 
whirl-storm so that the skies were darkened and the 
ocean roared and trembled. But the Blessed One un- 
der the Bodhi-tree remained calm and feared not. The 
Enlightened One knew that no harm could befall him. 6 

The three daughters of Mara tempted Bodhisattva, 
but he paid no attention to them, and when Mara saw 
that he could kindle no desire in the heart of the vie- 



30 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

torious shramana, he ordered all the evil spirits at his 
command to attack him and overawe the great muni. 6 

But the Blessed One watched them as one would 
watch the harmless games of children. All the fierce 
hatred of the evil spirits was of no avail. The flames 
of hell became wholesome breezes of perfume, and the 
angry thunderbolts were changed into lotus-flowers. 7 

When Mara saw this, he fled away with his army 
from the Bodhi-tree. Whilst from above a rain of 
heavenly flowers fell, and invisible voices of good spir- 
its were heard : 8 

"Behold the great muni i his mind unmoved by 
hatred ; the host of the wicked one has not overawed 
him. He is pure and wise, loving, and full of mercy. 9 

"As the rays of the sun drown the darkness of the 
world, so he who perseveres in his search will find the 
truth and the truth will enlighten him." 10 



XII. ENLIGHTENMENT. 

Bodhisattva having put to flight Mara, gave him- 
self up to meditation. All the miseries of the world, 
the evils produced by evil deeds and the sufferings 
arising therefrom passed before his mental eye, and he 
thought : 1 

" Surely if living creatures saw the results of all 
their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in 
disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to 
their obnoxious desires. 2 

"They crave for pleasure and they cause pain; when 
death destroys their individuality, they find no peace ; 
their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood re- 
appears in new births. 3 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 3 1 

" Thus they continue to move in the coil and can 
find no escape from the hell of their own making. And 
how empty are their pleasures, how vain are their en- 
deavors ! Hollow like the plantain-tree and without 
contents like the bubble. 4 

" The world is full of sin and sorrow, because it is 
full of error. Men go astray because they think that 
delusion is better than truth. Rather than truth they 
follow error, which is pleasant to look at in the begin- 
ning but causes anxiety, tribulation, and misery." 5 

And Bodhisattva began to expound the dharma. 
The dharma is the truth. The dharma is the sacred 
law. The dharma is religion. The dharma alone can 
deliver us from error, sin, and sorrow. 6 

Pondering on the origin of birth and death, the 
Enlightened One recognised that ignorance v/as the 
root of all evil ; and these are the links in the develop- 
ment of life, called the twelve nidanas : 

" In the beginning there is existence blind and 
without knowledge ; and in this sea of ignorance there 
are appetences formative and organising. From appe- 
tences, formative and organising, rises awareness or 
feelings. Feelings beget organisms that live as indi- 
vidual beings. These organisms develop the six fields, 
that is, the five senses and the mind. The six fields 
come in contact with things. Contact begets sensa- 
tion. Sensation creates the thirst of individualised be- 
ing. The thirst of being creates a cleaving to things. 
The cleaving produces the growth and continuation of 
selfhood. Selfhood continues in renewed births. The 
renewed births of selfhood are the cause of suffering, 
old age, sickness, and death. They produce lamenta- 
tion, anxiety, and despair. 8 

"The cause of all sorrow lies at the very beginning ; 



32 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

it is hidden in the ignorance from which life grows. 
Remove ignorance and you will destroy the wrong ap- 
petences that rise from ignorance ; destroy these ap- 
petences and you will wipe out the wrong perception 
that rises from them. Destroy wrong perception and 
there is an end of errors in individualised beings. De- 
stroy errors in individualised beings and the illusions of 
the six fields will disappear. Destroy illusions and the 
contact with things will cease to beget misconception. 
Destroy misconception and you do away with thirst. 
Destroy thirst and you will be free of all morbid cleav- 
ing. Remove the cleaving and you destroy the self- 
fishness of selfhood. If the selfishness of selfhood is 
destroyed you will be above birth, old age, disease, 
and death, and you escape all suffering." 9 

The Enlightened One saw the four noble truths 
which point out the path that leads to Nirvana or the 
extinction of self : 10 

"The first noble truth is the existence of sorrow. 
Birth is sorrowful, growth is sorrowful, illness is sor- 
rowful, and death is sorrowful. Sad it is to be joined 
with that which we do not like. Sadder still is the 
separation from that which we love, and painful is the 
craving for that which cannot be obtained. n 

"The second noble truth is the cause of suffering. 
The cause of suffering is lust. The surrounding world 
affects sensation and begets a craving thirst, which 
clamors for immediate satisfaction. The illusion of 
self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to 
things. The desire to live for the enjoyment of self 
entangles us in the net of sorrow. Pleasures are the bait 
and the result is pain. 12 

"The third noble truth is the cessation of sorrow. 
He who conquers self will be free from lust. He no 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 33 

longer craves, and the flame of desire finds no material 
to feed upon. Thus it will be extinguished. 13 

"The fourth noble truth is the eightfold path that 
leads to the cessation of sorrow. There is salvation 
for him whose self disappears before Truth, whose will 
is bent upon what he ought to do, whose sole desire is 
the performance of his duty. He who is wise will en- 
ter this path and make an end of sorrow. 14 

"The eightfold path is (i) right comprehension; 
(2) right resolutions; (3) right speech; (4) right acts; 
(5) right way of earning a livelihood ; (6) right efforts; 
(7) right thoughts ; and (8) the right state of a peace- 
ful mind." 15 

This is the dharma. This is the truth. This is 
religion. And the Enlightened One uttered this stanza : 

" Long have I wandered ! Long ! 
Bound by the chain of desire 
Through many births, 
Seeking thus long in vain, 
Whence comes this restlessness in man? 
Whence his egotism, his anguish ? 
And hard to bear is samsara 
When pain and death encompass us. 
Found ! it is found ! 
The cause of selfhood. 
No longer shalt thou build a house for me. 
Broken are the beams of sin ; 
The ridge-pole of care is shattered, 
Into Nirvana my mind has passed, 
The end of cravings has been reached at last." K 

There is self and there is truth. Where self is, truth 
is not. Where truth is, self is not. Self is the fleeting 
error of samsara ; it is individual separateness and 



34 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

that egotism which begets envy and hatred. Self is 
the yearning for pleasure and the lust after vanity. 
Truth is the correct comprehension of things ; it is the 
permanent and everlasting, the real in all existence, 
the bliss of righteousness. 17 

The existence of self is an illusion, and there is no 
wrong in this world, no vice, no sin, except what flows 
from the assertion of self. M 

The attainment of truth is possible only when self 
is recognised as an illusion. Righteousness can be 
practised only when we have freed our mind from the 
passions of egotism. Perfect peace can dwell only 
where all vanity has disappeared. 39 

Blessed is he who has understood the dharma. 
Blessed is he who does no harm to his fellow-beings. 
Blessed is he who overcomes sin and is free from pas- 
sion. To the highest bliss has he attained who has con- 
quered all selfishness and vanity. He has become Bud- 
dha, the Perfect One, the Blessed One, the Holy One. 20 

XIII. THE FIRST CONVERTS. 

The Blessed One tarried in solitude seven times 
seven days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation. 1 

At that time Tapussa and Bhallika, two merchants, 
came travelling on the road near by, and when they 
saw the great shramana, majestic and full of peace, 
they approached him respectfully and offered him rice- 
cakes and honey. 2 

This was the first food that the Enlightened One ate 
since he attained Buddhahood. 3 

And Buddha addressed them and pointed out to 
them the way of salvation. The two merchants con- 
ceiving in their minds the holiness of the conqueror 



THE PRINCE BECOMES BUDDHA. 35 

of Mara, bowed down in reverence and said: "We 
take our refuge, Lord, in the Blessed One and in the 
Dharma." 4 

Tapussa and Bhallika were the first that became 
lay disciples of Buddha. 5 



XIV. BRAHMA'S REQUEST. 

The Blessed One having attained Buddhahood pro- 
nounced this solemn utterance : 1 

"Blissful is freedom from malice. Blissful is ab- 
sence of lust and the loss of all pride that comes from 
the thought '/am.' 2 

" I have recognised the deepest truth, which is 
sublime and peace-giving, but difficult to understand. 
For most men move in a sphere of worldly interests and 
find their delight in worldly desires. </' 3 

"The worldling will not understand the doctrine, 
for to him there is happiness in selfhood only, and the 
bliss that lies in a complete surrender to truth is unin- 
telligible to him. 4 

"He will call resignation what to the Enlightened 
One is. the purest joy. He will see annihilation where 
the perfected one finds immortality. He will regard as 
death what the conqueror of self knows to be life ever- 
lasting. 5 

" The truth remains hidden from him who is in the 
bondage of hate and desire. Nirvana remains incom- 
prehensible and mysterious to the vulgar mind that 
worldly interests surround as with clouds. 6 

/ " Should I preach the doctrine and mankind not 
/ comprehend it, it would bring me only fatigue and 



J trouble. 



36 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Then Brahma Sahampati descended from the heaven 
and, having worshipped the Blessed One, said : 6 

"Alas ! the world must perish, should the Holy 
One, the Tathagata, decide not to teach the dharma. 9 

"Be merciful to those that struggle; have com- 
passion upon the sufferers ; pity the creatures who are 
hopelessly entangled in the snares of sorrow. 10 

"There are some beings that are almost pure from 
the dust of worldliness. If they hear not the doctrine 
preached, they will be lost. But if they hear it, they 
will believe and be saved." n 

The Blessed One, full of compassion, looked with 
the eye of a Buddha upon all sentient creatures, and he 
saw among them beings whose minds were but scarcely 
covered by the dust of worldliness, who were of good 
disposition and easy to instruct. He saw some who 
were conscious of the dangers of lust and sin. 12 

And the Blessed One said: "Wide open be the 
door of immortality to all who have ears to hear. May 
they receive the dharma with faith." 13 

Then, Brahma Sahampati understood that the 
Blessed One had granted the request and would preach 
the doctrine. 14 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 



XV. UPAKA. 

NOW the Blessed One thought : " To whom shall 
I preach the doctrine first? My old teachers are 
dead. They would have received the good news with 
joy. But my five disciples are still alive. I shall go 
to them, and to them shall I first proclaim the gospel 
of deliverance. " x 

At that time the five bhikshus dwelt in the Deer 
Park at Benares, and the Blessed One not thinking cf 
their unkindness in having left him at a time when he 
was most in need of their sympathy and help, but 
mindful only of the services which they had ministered 
unto him, and pitying them for the austerities which 
they practised in vain, rose and journeyed to their 
abode. 2 

Upaka, a young Brahman and a Jain, a former 
acquaintance of Siddhartha, saw the Blessed One while 
he journeyed to Benares, and, amazed at the majesty 
and sublime joyfulness of his appearance said : " Your 
countenance, friend, is serene ; your eyes are bright 
and indicate purity and blessedness." 3 

The holy Buddha replied : "I have obtained de- 
liverance by the extinction of self. My body is chas- 



38 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

tened, my mind is free from desire, and the deepest 
truth has taken abode in my heart. I have obtained 
Nirvana, and this is the reason that my countenance is 
serene and my eyes are bright. I now desire to found 
the kingdom of truth upon earth, to give light to those 
who are enshrouded in darkness and to open the gate 
of immortality to men. " 4 

Upaka replied : "You profess then, friend, to be 
Jina, the conqueror of the world, the absolute one and 
the holy one." 5 

The Blessed One said: " Jinas are all those who 
have conquered self and the passions of self, those 
alone are victors who control their minds and abstain 
from sin. Therefore, Upaka, I am the Jina." 6 

Upaka shook his head. " Venerable Gautama," 
he said, "your way lies yonder," and taking another 
road, he went away. 7 

XVI. THE SERMON AT BENARES. 

The five bhikshus saw their old teacher approach 
and agreed among themselves not to salute him, nor 
to address him as a master, but by his name only. 
"For," so they said, "he has broken his vow and has 
abandoned holiness. He is no bhikshu but Gautama, 
and Gautama has become a man who lives in abun- 
dance and indulges in the pleasures of worldliness. " 1 

But when the Blessed One approached in a digni- 
fied manner, they involuntarily rose from their seats 
and greeted him in spite of their resolution. Still 
they called him by his name and addressed him as 
"friend." 2 

When they had thus received the Blessed One, he 
said: "Do not call the Tathagata by his name nor 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 39 

address him < friend/ for he is Buddha, the Holy One. 
Buddha looks equally with a kind heart on all living 
beings and they therefore call him ' Father/ To disre- 
spect a father is wrong ; to despise him, is sin. 3 

"The Tathagata," Buddha continued, "does not 
seek salvation in austerities, but for that reason you 
must not think that he indulges in worldly pleasures, 
nor does he live in abundance. The Tathagata has 
found the middle path. 4 

"Neither abstinence from fish or flesh, nor going ** 
naked, nor shaving the head, nor wearing matted hair, 
nor dressing in a rough garment, nor covering oneself 
with dirt, nor sacrificing to Agni, will cleanse a man 
who is not free from delusions. 5 

"Reading the Vedas, making offerings to priests, 
or sacrifices to the gods, self-mortification by heat or 
cold, and many such penances performed for the sake 
of immortality, these do not cleanse the man who is 
not free from delusions. 6 

"Anger, drunkenness, obstinacy, bigotry, decep- 
tion, envy, self-praise, disparaging others, supercili- 
ousness, and evil intentions constitute uncleanness; 
not verily the eating of flesh. 7 

"Let me teach you, O bhikshus, the middle path, \* 
which keeps aloof from both extremes. By suffering, 
the emaciated devotee produces confusion and sickly 
thoughts in his mind. Mortification is not conducive 
even to worldly knowledge ; how much less to a triumph 
over the senses ! 8 

" He who fills his lamp with water will not dispel 
the darkness, and he who tries to light a fire with rot- 
ten wood will fail. 9 

" Mortifications are painful, vain, and profitless. 
And how can any one be free from self by leading a 



4-0 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

wretched life if he does not succeed in quenching the 
fires of lust. 10 

"All mortification is vain so long as self remains, 
so long as self continues to lust after either worldly or 
heavenly pleasures. But he in whom self has become 
extinct is free from lust ; he will desire neither worldly 
nor heavenly pleasures, and the satisfaction of his nat- 
ural wants will not defile him. Let him eat and drink 
according to the needs of the body. u 

"Water surrounds the lotus-flower, but does not 
wet its petals. B 

"On the other hand, sensuality of all kind is en- 
ervating. The sensual man is a slave of his passions, 
and pleasure-seeking is degrading and vulgar. M 

"But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. 
To keep the body in good health is a duty, for other- 
wise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, 
and keep our mind strong and clear. 14 

"This is the middle path, O bhikshus, that keeps 
aloof from both extremes. " 15 

And the Blessed One spoke kindly to his disciples, 
pitying them for their errors, and pointing out the use- 
lessness of their endeavors, and the ice of ill-will that 
chilled their hearts melted away under the gentle 
warmth of the Master's persuasion. 16 

Now the Blessed One set the wheel of the most 
excellent law a-rolling, and he began to preach to the 
five bhikshus, opening to them the gate of immortality, 
and showing them the bliss of Nirvana. 17 

And when the Blessed One began his sermon, a 
rapture thrilled through all the universes. 18 

The devas left their heavenly abodes to listen to the 
sweetness of the truth ; the saints that had parted from 
life crowded around the great teacher to receive the 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 41 

glad tidings ; even the animals of the earth felt the 
bliss that rested upon the words of the Tathagata : and 
all the creatures of the host of sentient beings, gods, 
men, and beasts, hearing the message of deliverance, 
received and understood it in their own language. 19 

Buddha said : 20 

"The spokes of the wheel are the rules of pure lr 
conduct ; justice is the uniformity of their length ; wis- 
dom is the tire ; modesty and thoughtfulness are the 
hub in which the immovable axle of truth is fixed. 21 

"He who recognises the existence of suffering, its 
cause, its remedy, and its cessation has fathomed the 
four noble truths. He will walk in the right path. ^ 

"Right views will be the torch to light his way. 
Right aims will be his guide. Right words will be his 
dwelling-place on the road. His gait will be straight, 
for it is right behavior. His refreshments will be the 
right way of earning his livelihood. Right efforts will 
be his steps : right thoughts his breath ; and peace 
will follow in his footprints. " ™ 

And the Blessed One explained the instability of 
the ego. 24 

"Whatsoever is originated will be dissolved again. 
AUworry about the self is vain ; the ego is like a mir- \ 
age, and all the tribulations that touch it will pass 
away. They will vanish like a nightmare when the 
sleeper awakes. 25 

"He who has awakened is freed from fear; he has 
become Buddha ; he knows the vanity of all his cares, 
his ambitions, and also of his pains. 26 

"There was a man who, having taken a bath, 
stepped upon a wet rope, and he thought it was a 
snake. Horror overcame him, and he shook from 
fear, anticipating in his mind all the agonies caused by 



42 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

its venomous bite. What a relief does this man ex- 
perience when he sees that it is no snake. The cause 
of his fright lies in his error, his ignorance, his illusion. 
If the true nature of the rope is recognised, his tran- 
quillity of mind will come back to him ; he will feel re- 
lieved ; he will be joyful and happy. 27 

"This is the state of mind of one who has recog- 
nised that there is no self, that the cause of all his 
troubles, cares, and vanities is a mirage, a shadow, a 
dream. 28 

"Happy is he who has overcome all selfishness ; 
happy is he who has attained peace ; happy is he who 
has foUnd the truth. 28 

"The truth is noble and sweet ; the truth can de- 
liver you from evil. There is no saviour in the world 
except the truth. 30 

" Have confidence in the truth, although you may 
not be able to comprehend it, although you may sup- 
pose its sweetness to be bitter, although you may 
shrink from it at first. Trust in the truth. 31 

" The truth is best as it is. No one can alter it ; 
neither can any one improve it. Have faith in the 
truth and live it. 32 

"Errors lead astray; illusions beget miseries. They 
intoxicate like strong drinks ; but they fade away soon 
and leave you sick and disgusted. 33 

"Self is a fever; self is a transient vision, a dream ; 
but truth is wholesome, truth is sublime, truth is ever- 
lasting. There is no immortality except in truth. For 
truth alone abideth forever." M 

And when the doctrine was propounded, the vener- 
able Kaundinya, the oldest one among the five bhik- 
shus, discerned the truth with his mental eye, and he 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 43 

said : " Truly, O Buddha, our Lord, thou hast found 
the truth." ** 

And the devas and saints and all the good spirits 
of the departed generations that had listened to the 
sermon of the Tathagata, joyfully received the doctrine 
and shouted : " Truly, the Blessed One has founded 
the kingdom of righteousness. The Blessed One has 
moved the earth ; he has set the wheel of Truth roll- 
ing, which by no one in the universe, be he god or 
man, can ever be turned back. The kingdom of Truth 
will be preached upon earth ; it will spread ; and 
righteousness, good-will, and peace will reign among 
mankind." 36 

XVII. THE SANGHA. 

Having pointed out to the five bhikshus the truth, 
Buddha said : 1 

"A man that stands alone, having decided to obey 
the truth may be weak and slip back into his old ways. 
Therefore stand ye together, assist one another, and 
strengthen one another's efforts. 2 

"Be like unto brothers; one in love, one in holi- 
ness, and one in your zeal for the truth. 3 

"Spread the truth and preach the doctrine in all 
quarters of the world, so that in the end all living crea- 
tures will be citizens of the kingdom of righteous- 
ness. 4 

"This is the holy brotherhood ; this is the church 
of Buddha ; this is the Sangha that establishes a com- 
munion among all those who have taken their refuge 
in Buddha." 5 

And Kaundinya was the first disciple of Buddha 
who had thoroughly grasped the doctrine of the Holy 



44 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

One, and the Tathagata looking into his heart said : 
" Truly Kaundinya has understood the truth." Hence 
the venerable Kaundinya received the name "Ajnyata- 
Kaundinya," that is, " Kaundinya who has understood 
the doctrine. " 6 

Then the venerable Kaundinya spoke to Buddha 
and said : "Lord, let us receive the ordination from 
the Blessed One." 7 

And Buddha said: "Come, O bhikshus ! Well 
taught is the doctrine. Lead a holy life for the extinc- 
tion of suffering." 8 

Then Kaundinya and the other bhikshus uttered 
three times these solemn vows : 9 

"To Buddha will I look in faith : He, the Perfect 
One, is holy and supreme. Buddha conveys to us in- 
struction, wisdom, and salvation, He is the Blessed 
One, who knows the laws of being, He is the Lord of 
the world, who yoketh men like oxen, the Teacher of 
gods and men, the Exalted Buddha. To Buddha will 
I look in faith. 10 

" To the doctrine will I look in faith : well-preached 
is the doctrine by the Exalted One. The doctrine has 
been revealed so as to become visible ; the doctrine is 
above time and space. The doctrine is not based upon 
hearsay, it means 'come and see'; the doctrine leads 
to welfare ; the doctrine is recognised by the wise in 
their own hearts. To the doctrine will I look in faith. u 

" To the community will I look in faith ; the com- 
munity of Buddha's disciples instructs us how to lead 
a life of righteousness ; the community of Buddha's 
disciples teaches us how to exercise honesty and justice; 
the community of Buddha's disciples shows us how to 
practise the truth. They form a brotherhood of kind- 
ness and charity. Their saints are worthy of rever- 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 45 

ence. The community of Buddha's disciples is founded 
as a holy alliance in which men bind themselves to- 
gether to teach the behests of rectitude and to do good. 
To the community will I look in faith. " 12 



XVIII. YASHAS, THE YOUTH OF BENARES. 

At that time there Was in Benares a noble youth, 
Yashas by name, the son of a wealthy merchant. 
Troubled in his mind about the sorrows of the world, 
he secretly rose up in the night and stole away to the 
Blessed One. 1 

The Blessed One saw Yashas, the noble youth, 
coming from afar. And Yashas approached and ex- 
claimed : "Alas, what distress ! What tribulations ! " 2 

The Blessed One said to Yashas : "Here is no dis- 
tress ; here are no tribulations. Come to me and I 
will teach you the truth, and the truth will dispel your 
sorrows." 3 

And when Yashas, the noble youth, heard that there 
were neither distress, nor tribulations, nor sorrows, his 
heart was comforted. He went into the place where 
the Blessed One was, and sat down near him. 4 

Then the Blessed One preached about charity and 
morality. He explained the vanity of desires, their 
sinfulness, and their evils, and pointed out the path 
of deliverance. 5 

Instead of disgust at the world, Yashas felt the 
cooling stream of holy wisdom, and, having obtained 
the pure and spotless eye of truth, he looked at his 
person, richly adorned with pearls and precious stones, 
and his heart was filled with shame. 6 

The Tathagata, knowing his inward thoughts, said: 7 



46 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"Though a person be ornamented with jewels, the 
heart may have conquered the senses. The outward 
form does not constitute religion or affect the mind. 
Thus the body of a shramana may wear an ascetic's 
garb while his mind is immersed in worldliness. 

"A man that dwells in lonely woods and yet covets 
worldly vanities, is a worldling, while the man in 
worldly garments may let his heart soar high to heav- 
enly thoughts. 9 
"There is no distinction between the layman and 
the hermit, if but both have banished the thought of 
self." 10 
Seeing that Yashas was ready to enter upon the 
path, the Blessed One said to him: "Follow me!" 
And Yashas joined the brotherhood, and having put on 
the yellow robe, received the ordination. n 
While the Blessed One and Yashas were discussing 
the doctrine, Yashas's father passed by in search of his 
son ; and in passing he asked the Blessed One : "Pray, 
Lord, have you seen Yashas, my son? " 12 
Buddha said to Yashas's father: "Come in, sir, 
you will find your son ; and Yashas's father became full 
of joy and he entered. He sat down near his son, but 
his eyes were holden and he knew him not \ and the 
Lord began to preach. And Yashas's father, under- 
standing the doctrine of the Blessed One, said : 13 
"Glorious is the truth, O Lord ! The Buddha, the 
Holy One, our Master, sets up what has been over- 
turned ; he reveals what has been hidden ; he points 
out the way to the wanderer that has gone astray; he 
lights a lamp in the darkness so that all who have eyes 
to see can discern the things that surround them. I 
take refuge in the Buddha, our Lord : I take refuge in 
the doctrine revealed by him : I take refuge in the 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 47 

brotherhood which he has founded. May the Blessed 
One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts 
as a disciple who has taken refuge in him." 14 

Yashas's father was the first lay-member who joined 
the Sangha. 15 

When the wealthy merchant had taken refuge in 
Buddha, his eyes were opened and he saw his son sit- 
ting at his side in yellow robes. "My son, Yashas," 
he said, "your mother is absorbed in lamentation and 
grief. Return home and restore your mother to life. ,J 16 

Then Yashas looked at the Blessed One, and the 
Blessed One said : "Should Yashas return to the world 
and enjoy the pleasures of a worldly life as he did be- 
fore ?" 17 

And Yashas's father replied : "If Yashas, my son, 
finds it a gain to stay with you, let him stay. He has 
become delivered from the bondage of worldliness. " ls 

When the Blessed One had cheered their hearts 
with words of truth and righteousness, Yashas's father 
said: "May the Blessed One, O Lord, consent to 
take his meal with me together with Yashas as his at- 
tendant?" 19 

The Blessed One, having donned his robes, took his 
alms-bowl and went with Yashas to the house of the 
rich merchant. When they had arrived there, the 
mother and also the former wife of Yashas saluted the 
Blessed One and sat down near him. 20 

Then the Blessed One preached, and the women 
having understood his doctrine, exclaimed : "Glorious 
is the truth, O Lord ! The Buddha, the Holy One, 
our Master, sets up what has been overturned ; he re- 
veals what has been hidden ; he points out the way to 
the wanderer who has gone astray; he lights a lamp 
in the darkness, so that all who have eyes to see can 



48 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

discern the things that surround them. We take refuge 
in the Buddha, our Lord. We take refuge in the doc- 
trine revealed by him. We take refuge in the brother- 
hood which has been founded by him. May the 
Blessed One receive us from this day forth while our 
life lasts as disciples who have taken refuge in him. " 21 

The mother and the wife of Yashas, the noble youth 
of Benares, were the first women who became lay-dis- 
ciples and took their refuge in Buddha. ^ 

Now there were four friends of Yashas belonging 
to the wealthy families of Benares- Their names were 
Vimala, Subahu, Punyajit, and Gavampati. 23 

When Yashas's friends heard that Yashas had cut 
off his hair and put on yellow robes to give up the 
world and go forth into homelessness, they thought : 
"Surely that cannot be a common doctrine, that must 
be a noble renunciation of the world, if Yashas, whom 
we know to be good and wise, has shaved his hair and 
put on yellow robes to give up the world and go forth 
into homelessness." 24 

And they went to Yashas, and Yashas addressed the 
Blessed One, saying : "May the Blessed One admin- 
ister exhortation and instruction to these four friends 
of mine." And the Blessed One preached to them and 
Yashas's friends accepted the doctrine and took refuge 
in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. 25 

XIX. SENDING OUT THE DISCIPLES. 

And the gospel of the Blessed One increased from 
day to day, and many people came to hear him and to 
accept the ordination to lead thenceforth a holy life 
for the sake of the extinction of suffering. x 

And the Blessed One seeing that it was impossible 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 49 

to attend to all who wanted to hear the truth and re- 
ceive the ordination, sent out from the number of his 
disciples such as were to preach the dharma and said 
unto them : 2 

"Go ye now, O bhikshus, for the benefit of the 
many, for the welfare of mankind, out of compassion 
for the world. Preach the doctrine which is glorious 
in the beginning, glorious in the middle, and glorious 
in the end, in the spirit as well as in the letter. There 
are beings whose eyes are scarcely covered with dust, 
but if the doctrine is not preached to them they cannot 
attain salvation. Proclaim to them a life of holiness. 
They will understand the doctrine and accept it. 3 

"The Dharma and the Vinaya proclaimed by the 
Tathagata shine forth when they are displayed, and 
not when they are concealed. But let not this doc- 
trine, so full of truth, so excellent, fall into the hands 
of those unworthy of it, where it would be despised and 
contemned, treated shamefully, ridiculed and cen- 
sured. i 

"I now grant you, O bhikshus, this permission. 
Confer henceforth in the different countries the ordina- 
tion to those who are eager to receive it, when you find 
them worthy." 5 

And it became an established custom that the bhik- 
shus went out preaching while the weather was good, 
but in the rainy season they came together ag'ain and 
joined their master, to listen to the exhortations of the 
Tathagata. 6 

XX. KASHYAPA. 

At that time there lived in Uruvilva the Jatilas, be- 
lievers of Krishna, worshipping the fire ; and Kashyapa 
was their chief. 1 



50 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Kashyapa was renowned throughout all India, and 
his name was honored as one of the wisest men on 
earth and an authority on religion. 2 

And the Blessed One went to Kashyapa of Uru- 
vilva, the Jatila, and said : " Let me stay a night in the 
room where you keep your sacred fire. " 3 

Kashyapa seeing the Blessed One in his majesty and 
beauty thought to himself : " This is a great muni and 
a noble teacher. Should he stay over night in the room 
where the sacred fire is kept, the serpent will bite him 
and he will die." And he said : " I do not object to 
your staying over night in the room where the sacred 
fire is kept, but the serpent fiend will kill you and I 
should be sorry to see you perish." 4 

But Buddha insisted and Kashyapa admitted him to 
the room where the sacred fire was kept. 5 

And the Blessed One sat down, keeping his body 
erect, and surrounding himself with watchfulness. 6 

In the night the dragon came to Buddha, belching 
forth in rage his fiery poison, and filling the air with 
burning vapor, but could do him no harm, and the fire 
consumed itself while the world-honored remained com- 
posed. And the venomous fiend became very wroth 
so that he died in his anger. 7 

When Kashyapa saw the light shining forth from the 
room he said : "Alas, what misery! Truly the counte- 
nance of Gautama the great Shakyamuni is beautiful 
but the serpent will destroy him." 8 

In the morning the Blessed One showed the dead 
body of the fiend to Kashyapa, saying : "His fire has 
been conquered by my fire. " 9 

And Kashyapa thought to himself. "Shakyamuni is 
a great shramana and possesses high powers, but he is 
not holy like me." 10 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 51 

There was in those days a festival, and Kashyapa 
thought : " The people will come hither from all parts 
of the country and will see the great Shakyamuni. 
When he speaks to them, they will believe in him and 
abandon me." And he grew envious. u 

When the day of the festival arrived, the Blessed 
One retired and did not come to Kashyapa. And Kash- 
yapa went to Buddha and said : "Why did the great 
Shakyamuni not come ? " 12 

The Tathagata replied: "Did you not think, O 
Kashyapa, that it would be better if I stayed away from 
the festival?" 13 

And Kashyapa was astonished and thought : "Great 
is Shakyamuni, but he is not holy like me." 14 

And the Blessed One addressed Kashyapa and said : 
"You see the truth, but you do not accept it because 
of the envy that dwells in your heart. Is envy holi- 
ness ? Envy is the last remnant of self that has remained 
in your mind. You are not holy, Kashyapa ; you have 
not as yet entered the path." 15 

And Kashyapa gave up his resistance. His envy 
disappeared, and, bowing down before the Blessed 
One, he said : "Lord, our Master, let me receive the 
ordination from the Blessed One." 16 

And the Blessed One said : "You, Kashyapa, are 
chief of the Jatilas. Go, then, first and inform them 
of your intention, and let them do what you think 
fit." 17 

Then Kashyapa went to the Jatilas and said: "I 
am anxious to lead a religious life under the direction 
of the great Shakyamuni, who is Buddha, our Lord. 
You may do as you think best." 18 

And the Jatilas replied: "We have conceived a 



52 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

profound affection for the great Shakyamuni, and if you 
will join his brotherhood, we will do likewise." 19 

The Jatilas of Uruvilva now flung their parapher- 
nalia of fire-worship into the river and went to the 
Blessed One. 20 

Nadi Kashyapa and Gaya Kashyapa, brothers of 
the great Uruvilva Kashyapa, powerful men and chief- 
tains among the people, were dwelling below on the 
stream, and when they saw the instrumentalities used 
in fire-worship floating in the river, they said : " Some- 
thing has happened to our brother." And they came 
with their folk to Uruvilva. Hearing what had hap- 
pened, they, too, went to Buddha. 21 

The Blessed One, seeing the Jatilas of Nadi and 
Gaya, who had practised severe austerities and wor- 
shipped fire, come to him, preached a sermon on fire, 
and said: " Everything, O Jatilas, is burning. The 
eye is burning, thoughts are burning, all the senses are 
burning. They are burning with the fire of lust. There 
is anger, there is ignorance, there is hatred, and as long 
as the fire finds inflammable things upon which it can 
feed, so long will it burn, and there will be birth and 
death, decay, grief, lamentation, suffering, despair, and 
sorrow. Considering this, a disciple of truth will see 
the four truths and walk in the noble, eightfold path. 
He will become wary of his eye, wary of his thoughts, 
wary of all his senses. He will divest himself of pas- 
sion and become free. He will be delivered from self- 
ishness and attain the blessed state of Nirvana.'' 22 

And the Jatilas rejoiced and took refuge in the 
Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. 23 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 53 



XXI. THE SERMON AT RAJAGRIHA. 

And the Blessed One having dwelt some time in 
Uruvilva went forth to Rajagriha, accompanied by a 
great number of bhikshus, many of whom had been ja- 
tilas before ; and the great Kashyapa, formerly chief of 
the Jatilas, was with him. : 

When the Magadha king, Sainya Bimbisara, heard 
of the arrival of Gautama Shakyamuni, of whom the 
people said, "He is the Holy One, the blessed Buddha, 
guiding men as a driver curbs a bullock, the teacher of 
high and low," he went out surrounded with his coun- 
sellors and generals and came to the place where the 
Blessed One was. 2 

There they saw the Blessed One in the company of 
Kashyapa, the great religious teacher of the Jatilas, 
and they were astonished and thought: "Has the 
great Shakyamuni placed himself under the spiritual 
direction of Kashyapa, or has Kashyapa become a dis- 
ciple of Gautama? " 3 

And the Tathagata, reading the thoughts of the 
people, said to Kashyapa : "What knowledge have you 
gained, O Kashyapa, and what has induced 3 T ou to re- 
nounce the sacred fire and give up your austere pen- 
ances?" 4 

Kashyapa said : "The profit I derived from adoring 
the fire was continuance in the wheel of individuality 
with all its sorrows and vanities. This service I have 
cast away, and instead of continuing penances and 
sacrifices I have gone in quest of the highest Nir- 
vana." 5 

Buddha, perceiving that the whole assembly was 



54 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

ready as a vessel to receive the doctrine, spoke to 
Bimbisara the king : 6 

"He who knows the nature of his self and under- 
stands how his senses act, finds no room for the 7, and 
thus he will attain peace unending. The world holds 
the thought of /, and from this arises false apprehen- 
sion, 7 

"Some say that the / endures after death, some 
say it perishes. Both are wrong and their error is 
most grievous. 8 

"For if they say the / is perishable, the fruit they 
strive for will perish too, and at some time there will 
be no hereafter. This salvation from sinful selfishness 
is without merit. 9 

"When some, on the other hand, say the / will 
not perish, then in the midst of all life and death there 
is but one identity unborn and undying. If such is 
their 7, then it is perfect and cannot be perfected by 
deeds. The lasting, imperishable 7" could never be 
; changed. The self would be lord and master, and 
there would be no use in perfecting the perfect; moral 
aims and salvation would be unnecessary. 10 

"But now we see the marks of joy and sorrow. 
Where is any constancy? If it is not an I that does 
our deeds, then there is no 7; there is no actor behind 
the doing, no perceiver behind the knowing, no lord 
behind the living ! n 

" Now attend and listen : The senses meet the ob- 
ject and from their contact sensation is born. Thence 
results recollection. Thus, as the sun's power through 
a burning-glass causes fire to appear, so through the 
knowledge born of sense and object, that lord, whom 
you call self, is born. The shoot springs from the 
seed ; the seed is not the shoot ; both are not one and 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.. $$ 

the same, yet not different ! Such is the birth of ani- 
mated life. 12 

"Ye that are slaves of the I, that toil in the ser- 
vice of self from morn to night, that live in constant 
fear of birth, old age, sickness, and death, receive the 
good tidings that your cruel master exists not. 13 

"Self is an error, an illusion, a dream. Open your 
eyes and awake. See things as they are and you will 
be comforted. l4 

"He who is awake will no longer be afraid of night- 
mares. He who has recognised the nature of the rope 
that seemed to be a serpent ceases to tremble. 15 

"He who has found there is no /will let go all 
the lusts and desires of egotism. 16 

" The cleaving to things, covetousness, and sensu- 
ality, inherited from former existences, are the causes 
of misery and of the vanity in the world. 17 

"Surrender the grasping disposition of your self- 
ishness and you will attain to that sinless calm state 
of mind which conveys perfect peace, goodness, and 
wisdom. 18 

"As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, pro- 
tects her son, her only son : so let him that has recog- 
nised the truth, cultivate good-will without measure 
among all beings. 19 

"Let him cultivate good-will without measure to- 
ward the whole world, above, below, around, unstinted, 
unmixed with any feeling of making distinctions or of 
showing preferences. 20 

"Let a man remain steadfast in this state of mind 
while he is awake, whether he is standing, walking, 
sitting, or lying down. 21 

" This state of heart is best in the world. It is Nir- 
vana ! 22 



56 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"To abandon all wrong-doing ; to lead a virtuous 
life, and to cleanse one's heart. This is the religion 
of allBuddhas." 23 

When the enlightened one had finished his sermon, 
the Magadha king said to the Blessed One : 24 

"In former days, Lord, when I was a prince, I 
cherished five wishes. I wished, O, that I might be 
inaugurated as a king. This was my first wish, and it 
has been fulfilled. Further, I wished : Might the Holy 
Buddha, the Perfect One, appear on earth while I 
rule and may he come into my kingdom. This was 
my second wish and it is fulfilled now. Further, I 
wished : Might I pay my respects to him. This was 
my third wish and it is fulfilled now. The fourth wish 
was : Might the Blessed One preach the doctrine to 
me, and this is fulfilled now. The greatest wish, how- 
ever, was the fifth wish : Might I understand the doc- 
trine of the Blessed One ! And this wish is fulfilled 
too. 25 

"Glorious Lord! Most glorious is the truth 
preached by the Tathagata ! Our Lord, the Buddha 
sets up what has been overturned ; he reveals what 
has been hidden ; he points out the way to the wan- 
derer who has gone astray ; he lights a lamp in the 
darkness so that those who have eyes to see might 
see. 26 

"I take my refuge in the Buddha! I take my 
refuge in the Dharma. I take my refuge in the San- 
gha. " 27 

The Tathagata by the exercise of his virtue and by 
wisdom showed his unlimited spiritual power. He sub- 
dued and harmonised all minds. He made them see 
and accept the truth, and throughout the kingdom the 
seeds of virtue were sown. 28 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 57 



XXII. THE KING'S GIFT. 

The king, having taken his refuge in Buddha, in- 
vited theTathagata to his palace, saying : " Might the 
Blessed One consent to take his meal with me to-mor- 
row together with the fraternity of bhikshus ? " 1 

The next morning Sainya Bimbisara, the king, an- 
nounced to the Blessed One that it was time for din- 
ner : "You are my most welcome guest, O Lord of the 
world, come ; the dinner is ready." 2 

And the Blessed One having donned his robes, took 
his alms-bowl and entered, together with a great num- 
ber of bhikshus, the city of Rajagriha. 3 
Shakra,the king of the Devas, assuming the appear- 
ance of a young Brahman walked in front, singing these 
lines : 4 

"He who teaches self-control with those who have 
learned self-control ; the redeemer with those whom 
he has redeemed ; the Blessed One with those to whom 
he has given peace, has entered Rajagriha ! Hail, Bud- 
dha, our Lord ! Honored be his name and blessings 
to all who take refuge in him." 5 

When the Blessed One had finished his meal, and 
cleansed his bowl and his hands, the king sat down 
near him and thought : 6 

"Where may I find a place for the Blessed One to 
live in, not too far from the town and not too near, 
suitable for going and coming, easily accessible for all 
people who want to see him, a place that is by day not 
too crowded and by night not exposed to noise, whole- 
some and well fitted for a retired life? 7 

"There is my pleasure-garden, the bamboo forest 



58 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Venuvana, fulfilling all these conditions. I shall offer 
it to the fraternity of bhikshus with the Buddha at their 
head." 8 

And the king dedicated his pleasure-garden to the 
fraternity and said: "May the Blessed One accept 
the gift." 9 

Then the Blessed One having silently shown his 
consent, gladdened and edified the Magadha king by 
religious discourse, rose from his seat and went away. 10 



XXIII. SHARIPUTRA AND MAUDGALYAYANA. 

At that time Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, two 
Brahmans and chiefs of the followers of Sanjaya, led 
a religious life. They had given their words to each 
other: "He who first attains Nirvana shall tell the 
other one. " 1 

And Shariputra seeing the venerable Ashvajit beg- 
ging for alms, modestly keeping his eyes to the ground 
and dignified in deportment, exclaimed : "Truly this 
shramana has entered the right path, I will address him 
and ask, In whose name, friend, have you retired from 
the world ? Who is your teacher, and what doctrine 
do you profess ? " 2 

And Ashvajit replied : " I am a follower of the great 
Shakyamuni. He is the Buddha, the Blessed One, and 
in his name have I retired from the world. The Blessed 
One is my teacher and his doctrine do I profess." 3 

And Shariputra went to Maudgalyayana and told 
him, and they said : "We will go to the Blessed One, 
that he, the Blessed One, may be our teacher." And 
they went with all their followers to the Tathagata and 
took their refuge in Buddha. 4 



FOUNDATION OP THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 59 

And the Holy One said : " Shariputra is like the 
first-born son of a world-ruling monarch who assists 
the king as his chief follower to set the wheel of the 
law a-rolling. " b 



XXIV. THE PEOPLE DISSATISFIED. 

And the people were annoyed. Seeing that many 
distinguished young men of the kingdom of Magadha 
led a religious life under the direction of the Blessed 
One, they became angry and murmured : " Gautama 
Shakyamuni induces fathers to leave their wives and 
causes families to become extinct. " l 

When they saw the bhikshus, they reviled them, 
saying: "The great Shakyamuni has come to Raja- 
griha subduing the minds of men. Who will be the 
next to be led by him ? " 2 

The bhikshus told it to the Blessed One, and the 
Blessed One said : "This murmuring, O bhikshus, will 
not last long. It will last seven days. If they revile 
you, O bhikshus, answer them with these words : 3 

"'It is by preaching the truth that Tathagatas 
lead men. Who will murmur at the wise ? Who will 
blame the virtuous ? Self-control, righteousness, and a 
clean heart are the injunctions of our Master.' " 4 



XXV. ANATHAPINDIKA. 

At this time there was Anathapindika, a man of un- 
measured wealth, visiting Rajagriha. Being of a chari- 
table character, he was called "The supporter of the 
orphans and the friend of the poor. " * 

Hearing that Buddha had come into the world and 



60 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

was stopping in the bamboo grove near the city, he 
set out in the very night to meet the Blessed One. 2 
And the Blessed One saw at once the sterling qual- 
ity of Anathapindika's heart and greeted him with 
words of religious comfort. And they sat down to- 
gether, and Anathapindika listened to the sweetness of 
the truth preached by the Blessed One. And Buddha 
said : 3 

"The restless, busy nature of the world, this, I de- 
clare, is at the root of pain. Attain that composure of 
mind which is resting in the peace of immortality : 
Self is but a heap of composite qualities, and its world 
is empty like a fantasy. 4 

"Who is it that shapes our lives? Is it Ishvara, a 
personal creator? If ishvara be the maker, all living 
things should have silently to submit to their maker's 
power. They would be like vessels formed by the 
I potter's hand ; and if it were so, how would it be pos- 
; sible to practise virtue? If the world had been made by 
I Ishvara there should be no such thing as sorrow, or 
I calamity, or sin ; for both pure and impure deeds must 
I come from him. If not, there would be another cause 
beside him, and he would not be the self-existent one. 
I Thus, you see, the thought of Ishvara is overthrown. 5 
"Again it is said that the Absolute has created us. 
But that which is absolute cannot be a cause. All 
things around us come from a cause as the plant comes 
from the seed ; but how can the Absolute be the cause 
of all things alike? If it pervades them, then, certainly, 
it does not make them. 6 

"Again it is said that Self is the maker. But if 
self is the maker, why did he not make things pleas- 
ing? The causes of sorrow and joy are real and objec- 
tive. How can they have been made by self? 7 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 6l 

"Again, if you adopt the argument, there is no 
maker, our fate is such as it is, and there is no causa- 
tion, what use would there be in shaping our lives and 
adjusting means to an end? 8 

"Therefore, we argue that all things that exist are 
not without cause. However, neither Ishvara, nor the 
absolute, nor the self, nor causeless chance, is the 
maker, but our deeds produce results both good and 
evil. 9 

"The whole world is under the law of causation, 
and the causes that act are not un-mental, for the gold 
of which the cup is made is gold throughout. 10 

"Let us, then, surrender the heresies of worship- 
ping Ishvara and praying to him ; let us not lose our- 
selves in vain speculations of profitless subtleties ; let 
us surrender self and all selfishness, and as all things 
are fixed by causation, let us practise good so that 
good may result from our actions." u 

And Anathapindika said: "I see that thou art 
Buddha, the Blessed One and the Holy One, and I 
wish to open to you my whole soul. Having listened 
to my words advise me what I shall do. n 

" My life is full of work, and having acquired great 
wealth, I am surrounded with cares. Yet do I enjoy 
my work, and I apply myself to it with all diligence. 
Many people are in my employ and depend upon the 
success of my enterprises. 13 

"Now, I have heard your disciples praise the bliss 
of the hermit and denounce the unrest of the world. 
'The Holy One,' they say, 'has given up his kingdom 
and his inheritance, and has found the path of right- 
eousness, thus setting an example to all the world how 
to attain Nirvana.' u 



62 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"My soul yearns to do what is right and to be a 
blessing unto my fellow-beings. Let me then ask you, 
Must I give up my wealth, my home, and my business 
enterprises, and, like you, go into homelessness in or- 
der to attain the bliss of a religious life?'' 15 

And Buddha replied : "The bliss of a religious life 
is attainable by every one who walks in the noble eight- 
fold path. He that cleaves to wealth, had better cast 
it away than allow his heart to be poisoned by it ; but 
he who does not cleave to wealth, and possessing 
riches, uses them rightly, will be a blessing unto his 
fellow-beings. 16 ' 

"I say unto thee, remain in thy station of life and 
apply thyself with diligence to thy enterprises. It is 
not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but 
the cleaving to life and wealth and power. 17 

"The bhikshu who retires from the world in order 
to lead a life of leisure will have no gain. For a life 
of indolence is an abomination, and lack of energy is 
to be despised. 18 

"The dharma of the Tathagata does not require a 
man to go into homelessness or to resign the world, un- 
less he feels called upon to do so ; but the dharma of 
the Tathagata requires every man to free himself from 
the illusion of self, to cleanse his heart, to give up his 
thirst for pleasure, and lead a life of righteousness. 19 

"And whatever men do, whether they remain in 
the world as artisans, merchants, and officers of the 
king, or retire from the world and devote themselves 
to a life of religious meditation, let them put their 
whole heart into their task ; let them be diligent and 
energetic, and, if they are like the lotus, which, al- 
though it grows in the water, yet remains untouched 
by the water, if they struggle in life without cherishing 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 63 

envy or hatred, if they live in the world not a life of 
self but a life of truth, then surely joy, peace, and bliss 
will dwell in their minds." 20 



XXVI. THE SERMON ON CHARITY. 



• 



Anathapindika rejoiced at the words of the Blessed 
One and said: "I dwell at Shravasti, the capital of 
Kosala, a land rich in produce and enjoying peace. 
Prasenajit is the king of the country, and his name is 
renowned among our own people and our neighbors. 
Now I wish to found there a vihara which shall be a 
place of religious devotion for your brotherhood, and I 
pray you to kindly accept it. " * 

Buddha saw into the heart of the supporter of or- 
phans ; and knowing that unselfish charity was the 
moving cause of his offer, in acceptance of the gift, the 
Blessed One said : 2 

"The charitable man is loved by all ; his friend- 
ship is prized highly; in death his heart is at rest and 
full of joy, for he suffers not from repentance ; he re- 
ceives the opening flower of his reward and the fruit 
that ripens from it. 3 

"Hard it is to understand : By giving away our 
food, we get more strength, by bestowing clothing on 
others, we gain more beauty ; by founding abodes of 
purity and truth, we acquire great treasures. 4 

"There is a proper time and a proper mode in 
charity; just as the vigorous warrior goes to battle, so 
is the man who is able to give. He is like an able 
warrior, a champion strong and wise in action. 5 

"Loving and compassionate he gives with rever- 
ence and banishes all hatred, envy, and anger. 6 

"The charitable man has found the path of salva- 



64 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

tion. He is like the man who plants a sapling secur- 
ing thereby the shade, the flowers, and the fruit in fu- 
ture years. Even so is the result of charity, even so 
is the joy of him who helps those that are in need of 
assistance ; even so is the great Nirvana. 7 

" We reach the immortal path only by continuous 
acts of kindliness and we perfect our souls by compas- 
sion and charity. " 8 

Anathapindika invited Shariputra to accompany 
him on his return to Kosala and help him in selecting 
a pleasant site for the vihara. 



XXVII. BUDDHA'S FATHER. 

At the time when Buddha was residing at Raja- 
griha, Shuddhodana, his father, sent word to him say- 
ing : "I wish to see my son before I die. Others have 
had the benefit of his doctrine, but not his father nor 
his relatives. " x 

And the messenger said : " O world-honored Tatha- 
gata, your father looks for your coming as the lily 
longs for the rising of the sun." 2 

The Blessed One consented to the request of his 
father and set out on his journey to Kapilavastu. Soon 
the tidings spread in the native country of Buddha : 
" Prince Siddhartha, who wandered forth from home 
into homelessness to obtain enlightenment, having at- 
tained his purpose, is coming back." 3 

Shuddhodana went out with his relatives and minis- 
ters to meet the prince. When the king saw Siddhar- 
tha, his son, from afar, he was struck with his beauty 
and dignity, and he rejoiced in his heart, but his mouth 
found no words to utter. 4 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 65 

This indeed was his son ; these were the features of 
Siddhartha. How near was the great shramana to his 
heart, and yet what a distance lay between them. That 
noble muni was no longer Siddhartha his son ; he was 
Buddha, the Blessed One, the Holy One, Lord of 
truth, and teacher of mankind. 5 

Shuddhodana the king, considering the religious dig- 
nity of his son, descended from his chariot and having 
saluted his son first, said : " It is now seven years since 
I saw you. How I have longed for this moment ! " 6 

Buddha took a seat opposite his father, and the 
king eagerly gazed at his son. He longed to call him 
by his name but he dared not. " Siddhartha," he ex- 
claimed silently in his soul, " Siddhartha, comeback 
to your old father and be his son again !" But seeing 
the determination of his son, he suppressed his senti- 
ments, and desolation overcame him. 7 

Thus the king sat face to face with his son, rejoic- 
ing in his sadness and sad in his rejoicing. Well might 
he be proud of his son, but his pride broke down at 
the idea that his great son would never be his heir. 8 

" I would offer thee my kingdom," said the king, 
"but if I did, thou wouldst account it but as ashes." 9 

And Buddha said : "I know that the king's heart 
is full of love and that for his son's sake he feels deep 
grief. But let the ties of love that bind you to the son 
whom you lost embrace with equal kindness all your 
fellow-beings, and you will receive in his place a greater 
one than Siddhartha; you will receive Buddha, the 
teacher of truth, the preacher of righteousness, and the 
peace of Nirvana will enter into your heart." 10 

Shuddhodana trembled with joy when he heard the 
melodious words of his son, the Buddha, and clasping 
his hands exclaimed with tears in his eyes : "Won- 



66 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

derful is this change ! The overwhelming sorrow has 
passed away. At first my sorrowing heart was heavy, 
but now I reap the fruit of your great renunciation. 
It was right that, moved by your mighty sympathy, you 
should reject the pleasures of royal power and achieve 
your noble purpose in religious devotion. Having 
found the path you can now preach the law of immor- 
tality to all the world that yearns for deliverance." u 
The king returned to the palace while Buddha re- 
mained in the grove before the city. u 



XXVIII. YASHODHARA. 

On the next morning Buddha took his bowl and set 
out to beg his food. x 

And the news spread : "The prince Siddhartha is 
going from house to house to receive alms in the city 
where he used to ride in a chariot attended by his ret- 
inue. His robe is like a red clod and he holds in his 
hand an earthen bowl." 2 

On hearing the strange rumor, the king went forth 
in great haste and exclaimed : "Why do you disgrace 
me thus ? Do you not know that I can easily supply 
you and your bhikshus with food?" 3 

And Buddha replied: "It is the custom of my 
race." 4 

But the king said : " How can this be ? You are 
descended from kings, and not one of them ever begged 
for food." 5 

"O great king," rejoined Buddha, "you and your 
race may claim the descent from kings ; my descent 
is from the Buddhas of old. They, begging their food, 
lived on alms." 6 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 67 

The king made no reply, and the Blessed One con- 
tinued : (< It is customary, O king, when one has found 
a hidden treasure, for him to make an offering of the 
most precious jewel to his father. Suffer me, there- 
fore, to open this treasure of mine which is the dharma, 
and accept from me this gem : " 7 

And the Blessed One recited the following stanza : 

''Rise from dream and loiter not, 
Listen to the Law. 
Practise righteousness and lo, 
Eternal bliss is thine." 8 

Then the king conducted the prince into the palace, 
and the ministers and all the members of the royal 
family greeted him with great reverence, but Yasho- 
dhara, the mother of Rahula, did not make her ap- 
pearance. The king sent for Yashodhara, but she re- 
plied : "Surely, if I am deserving of any regard, Sid- 
dhartha will come and see me." 9 

The Blessed One, having greeted all his relatives 
and friends, asked : "Where is Yashodhara? " And on 
being informed that she had refused to come, he rose 
straightway and went to her apartments. 10 

"I am free," the Blessed One said to his disciples 
Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, whom he had bidden 
to accompany him to the princess's chamber ; "the 
princess, however, is not as yet free. Not having seen 
me for a long time, she is exceedingly sorrowful. Un- 
less her grief be allowed its course her heart will 
cleave. Should she touch the Tathagata, the Holy 
One, you must not prevent her." u 

Yashodhara sat in her room, dressed in mean gar- 
ments, and her hair cut. When the prince Siddhar- 
tha entered, she was, from the abundance of her 



68 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

affection, like an overflowing vessel, unable to contain 
herself. 12 

Forgetting that the man whom she loved was Bud- 
dha, the Lord of the world, the preacher of truth, she 
held him by his feet and wept bitterly. 13 

Remembering, however, that Shuddhodana was 
present, she felt ashamed and rose up seating herself 
reverently at a little distance. u 

The king apologised for the princess, saying : " This 
arises from her deep affection, and is more than a tem- 
porary emotion. During the seven years that she has 
lost her husband, when she heard that Siddhartha had 
shaved his head, she did likewise ; when she heard 
that he had left off the use of perfumes and ornaments, 
she also refused their use. Like her husband she has 
eaten at appointed times from an earthen bowl only. 
Like him she has renounced high seats with splendid 
coverings, and when other princes asked her in mar- 
riage, she replied that she was still his. Therefore, 
grant her forgiveness." 15 

And the Blessed One spoke kindly to Yashodhara, 
telling of her great merits inherited from former ex- 
istences. She, indeed, in his former lives had been of 
great assistance to him. Her purity, her gentleness, 
her devotion had been invaluable to Bodhisattva when 
he aspired to the highest aim of mankind to attain en- 
lightenment. And so holy had she been that she de- 
sired to become the wife of a Buddha. This, then, is 
her karma, and it is the result of great merits. Her 
grief has been unspeakable, but the consciousness of 
the glory that surrounds her spiritual inheritance in- 
creased by her noble attitude during her life will be a 
balm that will miraculously transform all sorrows into 
heavenly joy. 16 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 69 



XXIX. RAHULA. 

Many people in Kapilavastu believed in the Tatha- 
gata, taking refuge in his doctrine, and among the 
young men who joined the Sangha were Ananda, Sid- 
dhartha's half-brother, the son of Prajapati ; Devadatta, 
his cousin and brother-in-law ; Upali the barber ; and 
Anuruddha the philosopher. 1 

Ananda was a man after the heart of the Blessed 
One ; he was his most beloved disciple, profound in 
comprehension and gentle in spirit. And Ananda re- 
mained always near the Blessed Master of truth, until 
death parted them. 2 

On the seventh day after the arrival in Kapilavastu, 
Yashodhara dressed Rahula, now seven years old, in all 
the splendor of a prince and said to him : 3 

" This holy man, whose appearance is so glorious 
that he looks like the great Brahma, is your father. He 
possesses four great mines of wealth which I have not 
yet seen. Go to him and entreat him to put you in 
their possession, for the son ought to inherit the prop- 
erty of the father. " 4 

Rahula replied : "I know of no father but the king. 
Who is my father? " 5 

The princess took the boy in her arms and from the 
window she pointed out to him Buddha, who happened 
to be near the palace, partaking of food. 6 

Rahula then went to Buddha, and looking up in 
his face said without fear and with much affection : 
"My father!" 7 

And standing near by him, he added: "O shra- 
mana, even your shadow is a place of bliss!" 8 



Jo THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

When the Tathagata had finished his repast, he 
gave blessings and went away from the palace, but 
Rahula followed and asked his father for his inheri- 
tance. 9 

No one prevented the boy, nor did the Blessed 
One himself. 10 

Then the Blessed One turned to Shariputra, say- 
ing : " My son asks for his inheritance. I cannot give 
him perishable treasures that will bring cares and sor- 
rows, but I can give him the inheritance of a holy life, 
which is a treasure that will not perish." n 

Addressing Rahula with earnestness, the Blessed 
One said : "Gold and silver and jewels are not in my 
possession. But if you are willing to receive spiritual 
treasures, and are strong enough to carry them and to 
keep them, I shall give you the four truths which will 
teach you the eightfold path of righteousness. Do you 
desire to be admitted to the brotherhood of those who 
devote their life to the culture of the mind seeking for 
the highest bliss attainable? " 12 

And Rahula replied with firmness : "I do." 13 

When the king heard that Rahula had joined the 
brotherhood of bhikshus he was grieved. He had lost 
Siddhartha and Ananda, his sons, and Devadatta, his 
nephew. Now his grandson had been taken from him, 
he went to the Blessed One and spoke to him. And 
the Blessed One promised that henceforth he would not 
ordain any minor without the consent of his parents or 
guardians. 14 

XXX. JETAVANA. 

Anathapindika, the friend of the destitute and the 
supporter of orphans, having returned home, saw the 
garden of the heir-apparent, Jeta, with its green groves 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 71 

and limpid rivulets, and thought : "This is the place 
which will be most suitable as a vihara for the fraternity 
of the Blessed One." And he went to the prince and 
asked for leave to buy the ground. x 

The prince was not inclined to sell the garden for 
he valued it highly. He at first refused but said at 
last. " If you can cover it with gold, then, and for no 
other price, shall you have it." 2 

Anathapindika rejoiced and began to spread his 
gold ; but J eta said : " Spare yourself trouble for I will 
not sell." But Anathapindika insisted. Thus they 
differed and contended until they resorted to the magis- 
trate. 3 

Meanwhile the people began to talk of the unwonted 
proceeding and the prince hearing more of the details, 
and knowing that Anathapindika was not only very 
wealthy, but also straightforward and sincere, inquired 
into his plans. On hearing the name of Buddha, the 
prince became anxious to share in the foundation and 
he accepted only one-half of the gold, saying : "Yours 
is the land but mine are the trees. I will give the trees 
as my share of the offering to Buddha." 4 

Then Anathapindika took the land and Jeta the 
trees, and they settled them in trust of Shariputra. 5 

Having made the foundation, they began to build 
the hall which rose loftily in due proportions according 
to the directions which Buddha had laid down ; and it 
was beautifully decorated with appropriate carvings. 6 

This vihara was called Jetavana, and the friend of 
the orphans invited the Lord to come to Shravasti and 
receive the donation. And the Blessed One left Ka- 
pilavastu and came to Shravasti. 7 

While the Blessed One entered Jetavana, Anatha- 
pindika scattered flowers and burned incense, and as a 



72 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

sign of the gift he poured water from a golden dragon 
pitcher, saying, "This Jetavana vihara I give for the 
use of the brotherhood throughout the world." 

The Blessed One received the gift and replied : 
"May all evil influences be overcome ; may the offering 
promote the kingdom of righteousness and be a per- 
manent blessing to mankind in general and especially 
also to the giver." 9 

Then the king Prasenajit, hearing that the Lord 
had come, went in his royal equipage to the Jetavana 
vihara and saluted the Blessed One with clasped 
hands, saying : 10 

"Blessed is my unworthy and obscure kingdom 
that it has met with so great a fortune. For how can 
calamities and dangers befall it in the presence of the 
Lord of the world, the Dharma Raja, the King of 
Truth. u 

"Now that I have seen your sacred features, let 
me partake of the refreshing waters of your teach- 
ings. 12 

"Worldly profit is fleeting and perishable, but re- 
ligious profit is eternal and inexhaustible. A worldly 
man, though a king, is full of trouble, but even a com- 
mon man who is holy has peace of mind." 13 

Knowing the tendency of the king's heart, weighed 
down by avarice and love of pleasure, Buddha seized 
the opportunity and said : 14 

"Even those who, by their evil karma, have been 
born in low degree, when they see a virtuous man, feel 
reverence for him. How much more must an inde- 
pendent king, who by his previous conditions of life 
has acquired much merit, when he encounters Bud- 
dha, conceive reverence. 15 

"And now as I briefly expound the law, let the 



f\ 



FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 73 

Maharaja listen and weigh my words, and hold fast 
that which I deliver ! 16 

"Our good or evil deeds follow us continually like 
shadows. 17 

"That which is most needed is a loving heart ! 18 

" Regard your people as we do an only son. Do 
not oppress them, do not destroy them ; keep in due 
check every member of your body, forsake unrighteous 
doctrine and walk in the straight path ; do not exalt 
yourself by trampling down others. But comfort and 
befriend the suffering. 19 

"Neither ponder much on kingly dignity, nor listen 
to the smooth words of flatterers. ^ 

"There is no profit in vexing oneself by austeri- 
ties, but meditate on Buddha and weigh his righteous 
law. 21 

"We are enclosed on all sides by the rocks of birth, 
old age, disease, and death, and only by considering 
and practising the true law can we escape from this 
sorrow-piled mountain. K 

"What profit, then, in practising iniquity? 23 

"All who are wise spurn the pleasures of the body. 
They loathe lust and seek to promote their spiritual 
existence. 24 

"When a tree is burning with fierce flames, how 
can the birds congregate therein? Truth cannot dwell 
where passion lives. Without a knowledge of this the 
learned man, though he may be praised as a sage, is 
ignorant. 25 

'To him who has this knowledge true wisdom 
dawns. To acquire this wisdom is the one aim needed. 
To neglect it implies the failure of life. 26 

"The teachings of all schools should centre here, 
for without it there is no reason. ^ 



74 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

11 This truth is not for the hermit alone ; it concerns 
every human being, priest and layman alike. There is 
no distinction between the monk who has taken the 
vows, and the man of the world living with his family. 
There are hermits who fall into perdition, and there 
are humble householders who mount to the rank of 
rishis. 28 

"The tide of lust is a danger common to all; it 
carries away the world. He who is involved in its ed- 
dies finds no escape. But wisdom is the handy boat, 
reflexion is the rudder. The slogan of religion calls 
you to the rescue of your soul from the assaults of 
Mara, the enemy. M 

"Since it is impossible to escape the result of our 

deeds, let us practise good works. 30 

" Let us inspect our thoughts that we do no evil, for 

as we sow so shall we reap. 31 

" There are ways from light into darkness and from 
darkness into light. There are ways, also, from the 
gloom into deeper darkness, and from the dawn into 
brighter light. The wise man will use the light he has 
to receive more light. He will constantly advance to 
the knowledge of the truth. ^ 

"Exhibit true superiority by virtuous conduct and 
the exercise of reason ; meditate deeply on the vanity 
of earthly things, and understand the fickleness of life. 33 

" Elevate the mind, and seek sincere faith with firm 
purpose; transgress not the rules of kingly conduct, and 
let your happiness depend, not upon external things, 
but upon your own mind. Thus you will lay up a good 
name for distant ages and will secure the favor of the 
Tathagata." 34 

The king listened with reverence and remembered 
all the words of Buddha in his heart. ^ 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S 
RELIGION. 



XXXI. jfVAKA, THE PHYSICIAN. 

IONG before the Blessed One had attained enlight- 
j enment, self-mortification had been the custom 
among those who earnestly sought for salvation. Their 
final aim appeared to them the deliverance of the soul 
from all bodily necessities, and finally from the body 
itself. Thus they avoided everything that might be a 
luxury in food, shelter, and clothing, and lived like the 
beasts in the woods. Some went naked, while others 
wore the rags cast away upon cemeteries or dung- 
heaps. 1 

When the Blessed One retired from the world, he 
recognised at once the error of the naked ascetics, and 
considering the indecency of their habit, clad himself 
in cast-off rags. 2 

Having attained enlightenment and rejected all un- 
necessary self-mortifications, the Blessed One and his 
bhikshus continued for a long time to wear the cast-off 
rags of cemeteries and dung-hills. 3 

Then it happened that the bhikshus were visited 
with diseases of all kinds, and the Blessed One allowed 
them and explicitly ordered the use of medicines, and 
among them he even enjoined, whenever needed, the 
use of unguents. 4 



j6 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

One of the brethren suffered from a sore on his foot, 
and the Blessed One enjoined the bhikshus to wear 
foot-coverings. 5 

Now it happened that a disease befell the body of 
the Blessed One himself, and Ananda went to Jivaka, 
physician to Bimbisara, the king. 6 

And Jivaka, a faithful believer in the Holy One, 
ministered unto the Blessed One with medicines and 
baths until the body of the Blessed One was completely 
restored. 7 

At that time, Pradyota, king of Ujjayini, was suffer- 
ing from jaundice, and Jivaka, the physician to Bimbi- 
sara raja, was consulted. When king Pradyota had been 
restored to health, he sent to Jivaka a suit of the most 
excellent cloth. And Jivaka said to himself : "This 
suit is made of the best cloth, and nobody is worthy 
to receive it but the Blessed One, the perfect and 
holy Buddha, or the Magadha king, Sainya Bimbi- 
sara." 8 

Then Jivaka took that suit and went to the place 
where the Blessed One was ; having approached him, 
and having respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he 
sat down near him and said : " Lord, I ask a boon of 
the Blessed One." 9 

Buddha replied : "The Tathagatas, Jivaka, do not 
grant boons before they know what they are. " 10 

Jivaka said : "Lord it is a proper and unobjection- 
able demand." n 

"Speak, Jivaka," said the Blessed One. I2 

"Lord of the world, the Blessed One wears only 
robes made of rags taken from a dust heap or a cem- 
etery, and so does the fraternity of bhikshus. Now, 
Lord, this suit has been sent to me by king Pradyota, 
which is the best and most excellent, and the first and 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA S RELIGION. 77 

the most precious, and the noblest that can be found. 
Lord of the world, may the Blessed One accept from 
me this suit, and may he allow the fraternity of bhik- 
shus to wear lay robes." 13 

The Blessed One accepted the suit, and after hav- 
ing delivered a religious discourse, he addressed the 
bhikshus thus : u 

" He who likes may wear cast-off rags, but he who 
likes may accept lay robes. Whether you are pleased 
with the one or with the other, I shall approve it." 15 

When the people at Rajagriha heard, ' < The Blessed 
One has allowed the bhikshus to wear lay robes," 
those who were willing to bestow gifts became glad. 
And in one day many thousands of robes were pre- 
sented at Rajagriha to the bhikshus. 16 



XXXII. BUDDHA'S PARENTS ATTAIN NIRVANA. 

When Shuddodana had grown old, he fell sick and 
sent for his son to come and see him once more before 
he died ; and the Blessed One came and stayed at the 
sick-bed, and Shuddodana having attained the perfect 
enlightenment died in the arms of the Blessed One. x 

And it is said that the Blessed One, for the sake of 
preaching to his mother Maya-devi, ascended to heaven 
and dwelled with the devas. Having concluded his 
pious mission, he returned to the earth and went about 
again, converting those who listened to his teachings. 2 

XXXIII. WOMEN ADMITTED TO THE SANGHA. 

Yashodhara had three times requested of Buddha 
that she might be admitted to theSangha, but her wish 



78 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

was not granted. Now Prajapati, the foster-mother of 
the Blessed One, in the company of Yashodhara, and 
many other women, went to the Tathagata entreating 
him earnestly to let them take the vows and be or- 
dained as disciples of Buddha. x 

And the Blessed One, seeing their zeal for the truth, 
could no longer resist, and he accepted them as his 
disciples. 2 

Prajapati was the first woman that became a dis- 
ciple of Buddha and received the ordination as a bhik- 
shuni. 3 



XXXIV. THE BHIKSHUS' CONDUCT TOWARD WOMEN. 

The bhikshus came to the Blessed One and asked 
him : * 

"O Tathagata, our Lord and Master, what conduct 
toward women do you prescribe to the shramanas who 
have left the world?" 2 

And the Blessed One said : 8 

" Guard against looking on a woman. 4 

1 'If you see a woman, let it be as though you saw 
her not, and have no conversation with her. 5 

" If, after all, you must speak with her, let it be 
with a pure heart, and think to yourself, 'Iasa shra- 
mana will live in this sinful world as the spotless leaf 
of the lotus, unsoiled by the mud in which it grows.' 6 

" If the woman be old, regard her as your mother, 
if young, as your sister, if very young, as your child. 7 

"The shramanawho looks at a woman as a woman, 
or touches her as a woman has broken his vow and is 
no longer a disciple of the Shakyamuni. 8 

"The power of lust is great with men, and is to be 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION, 79 

feared withal ; take then the bow of earnest persever- 
ance, and the sharp arrow-points of wisdom. 

" Cover your head with the helmet of right thought, 
and fight with fixed resolve against the five desires. 10 

" Lust beclouds a man's heart, when it is confused 
with woman's beauty, and the mind is dazed. n 

"Better far with red-hot irons bore out both your 
eyes, than encourage in yourselves sensual thoughts, 
or look upon a woman's form with lustful desires. 12 

"Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth, or under 
the sharp knife of the executioner, than to dwell with 
a woman and excite in yourself lustful thoughts. 13 

"A woman of the world is anxious to exhibit her 
form and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or 
sleeping. Even when represented as a picture, she 
desires to captivate with the charms of her beauty, and 
thus to rob men of their steadfast heart ! 14 

" How then ought you to guard yourselves? 15 

" By regarding her tears and her smiles as enemies, 
her stooping foim, her hanging arms, and all her dis- 
entangled hair as toils designed to entrap man's heart. 16 

"Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, give it no 
unbridled license." 17 

XXXV. VISHAKHA. 

Vishakha, a wealthy woman in Shravasti who had 
many children and grandchildren, had given to the 
order the Purvarama or Eastern Garden, and was the 
first to become a matron of the lay sisters. * 

When the Blessed One stayed at Shravasti, Vi- 
shakha went up to the place where the Blessed One 
was, and tendered Him an invitation to take his meal 
at her house, which the Blessed One accepted. 2 



80 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

And a heavy rain fell during the night and the next 
morning ; and the bhikshus doffed their robes to keep 
them dry and let the rain fall upon their bodies. 3 

When on the next day the Blessed One had fin- 
ished his meal, she took her seat at his side and spoke 
thus : " Eight are the boons, Lord, which I beg of the 
Blessed One." 4 

Said the Blessed One: "The Tathagatas, O Vi- 
shakha, grant no boons unless they know what they 
are." b 

Vishakha replied: "Proper, Lord, and unobjec- 
tionable are the boons I ask." 6 

Having received permission to ask the boons, Vi- 
shakha said : "I desire, Lord, through all my life long 
to bestow robes for the rainy season on theSangha, and 
food for incoming bhikshus, and food for outgoing 
bhikshus, and food for the sick, and food for those who 
wait upon the sick, and medicine for the sick, and a 
constant supply of rice-milk and bathing robes for the 
bhikshunis, the sisters." 7 

Said Buddha: "But what circumstance is it, O 
Vishakha, that you have in view in asking these eight 
boons of the Tathagata? " 8 

And Vishakha replied : 9 

" I gave command, Lord, to my maid-servant, say- 
ing, ' Go thou and announce to the fraternity that the 
meal is ready.' And my maid went, but when she 
came to the vihara, she observed that the bhikshus 
had doffed their robes, while it was raining, and she 
thought : l These are not bhikshus, but naked ascetics 
letting the rain fall on them.' So she returned to me 
and reported accordingly, and I had to send her a sec- 
ond time. Impure, Lord, is nakedness, and revolting. 
It was this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 8 1 

desiring to provide the Sangha my life long with spe- 
cial garments fcr use in the rainy season. 10 

"As to my second wish, Lord, an incoming bhik- 
shu, not being able to take the direct roads, and not 
knowing the places where food can be procured, comes 
on his way wearied out by seeking for alms. It was 
this circumstance, Lord, that I had in view in desiring to 
provide the Sangha my life long with food for incoming 
bhikshus. u 

"Thirdly, Lord, an outgoing bhikshu, while seek- 
ing about for alms, may be left behind, or may arrive 
too late at the place whither he desires to go, and will 
set out on the road in weariness. u 

"Fourthly, Lord, if a sick bhikshu does not obtain 
suitable food, his sickness may increase upon him, and 
he may die. 13 

"Fifthly, Lord, a bhikshu who is waiting upon the 
sick will lose his opportunity of going out to seek food 
for himself. u 

"Sixthly, Lord, if a sick bhikshu does not obtain 
suitable medicines, his sickness may increase upon 
him, and he may die. 15 

"Seventhly, Lord, I have heard that the Blessed 
One has praised rice-milk, because it gives readiness 
of mind, dispels hunger and thirst ; it is wholesome for 
the healthy as nourishment, and for the sick as a medi- 
cine. Therefore I desire to provide the Sangha my 
life long with a constant supply of rice-milk. 16 

"Finally, Lord, the bhikshunis are in the habit of 
bathing in the river Achiravati with the courtesans, at 
the same landing-place, and naked. And the courte- 
sans, Lord, ridicule the bhikshunis, saying, ' What is 
the good, ladies, of your maintaining chastity when 
you are young? When you are old, maintain chastity 



82 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

then; thus will you be obtainers of both ends.' Im- 
pure, Lord, is nakedness for a woman, disgusting, and 
revolting. 17 

" These are the circumstances, Lord, that I had in 



view. 



18 



The Blessed One said : "But what was the advan- 
tage you had in view for yourself, O Vishakha, in ask- 
ing these eight boons of the Tathagatha ? " 19 

Vishakha replied : 20 

"Bhikshus who have spent the rainy seasons in 
various places will come, Lord, to Shravasti to visit 
the Blessed One. And on coming to the Blessed One 
they will ask, saying : < Such and such a bhikshu, Lord, 
has died. What, now, is his destiny?' Then will the 
Blessed One explain that he has attained the fruits of 
conversion ; that he has entered Nirvana or attained 
arhantship, as the case may be. 21 

"And I, going up to them, shall ask, 'Was that 
brother, Sirs, one of those who had formerly been at 
Shravasti?' If they reply to me, 'He has formerly 
been at Shravasti,' then shall I arrive at the conclusion, 
' For a certainty did that brother enjoy either the robes 
for the rainy season, or the food for the incoming bhik- 
shus, or the food for the outgoing bhikshus, or the 
food for the sick, or the food for those that wait upon 
the sick, or the medicine for the sick, or the constant 
supply of rice-milk. ' ^ 

"Then will gladness spring up within me; thus 
gladdened, joy will come to me ; and so rejoicing all 
my frame will be at peace. Being thus at peace I shall 
experience a blissful feeling of content ; and in that 
bliss my heart will be at rest. That will be to me an 
exercise of my moral sense, an exercise of my moral 
powers, an exercise of the seven kinds of wisdom ! 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 83 

This, Lord, was the advantage I had in view for myself 
in asking those eight boons of the Blessed One." 23 

The Blessed One said : " It is well, it is well, Vi- 
shakha. Thou hast done well in asking these eight 
boons of the Tathagata with such advantages in view. 
Charity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is 
like good seeds sown on a good soil that yields an 
abundance of fruits. But alms given to those who are 
yet under the tyrannical yoke of the passions are like 
a seed deposited in a bad soil. The passions of the 
receiver of the alms choke, as it were, the growth of 
merits." 2i 

And the Blessed One gave thanks to Vishakha in 
these verses : 25 

"Whatsoever donation a woman upright in life, a 
disciple of the Happy One, may bestow in gladness of 
heart and without stint, her gift is heavenly, destruc- 
tive of sorrow, and productive of bliss. 26 

"A blissful life does she attain, entering upon the 
path that is free from corruption and impurity ; 27 

"Aiming at good, happy does she become ; and she 
rejoices in her charitable actions." 28 

XXXVI. THE UPAVASATHA AND PRATIMOKSHA. 

Sainya Bimbisara, the Magadha king, retired from 
the world and led a religious life. And he observed 
that there were Brahmanical sects in Rajagriha keep- 
ing sacred certain days, and the people went to their 
meeting-houses and listened to their sermons. 1 

Concerning the need of keeping regular days for 
retirement from worldly labors and religious instruc- 
tion, the king went to the Blessed One and said : "The 
Parivrajaka, who belong to the Tirthika school, pros- 



84 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

per and gain adherents because they keep the eighth 
day and also the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each 
half-month. Would it not be advisable for the rev- 
erend brethren of the Sangha also to assemble on days 
duly appointed for that purpose?" 2 

And the Blessed One commanded the bhikshus to 
assemble on the eighth day and also on the fourteenth 
or fifteenth day of each half-month, and to devote these 
days to religious exercises. 3 

This is the Upavasatha or Sabbath of the disciples 
of Buddha. 4 

Now, the bhikshus, in obedience to the rule laid 
down by the Blessed One, assembled in the vihara on 
the day appointed, and the people went to hear the 
dharma, but they were greatly disappointed, for the 
bhikshus remained silent and delivered no discourse. 5 

When the Blessed One heard of it, he ordered 
the bhikshus to recite the Pratimoksha, which is the 
ceremony of disburdenment ; and he commanded them 
to make confession of their trespasses so as to receive 
the absolution of the order. 6 

For a fault, if there be one, should be confessed by 
the bhikshu who remembers it and desires to be 
cleansed. For a fault when confessed shall be light 
to him. 7 

And the Blessed One said: "The Pratimoksha 
must be recited in this way: 8 

" Let a competent and venerable bhikshu make the 
following proclamation to the Sangha : ' May the 
Sangha hear me ! To-day is Upavasatha, the eighth, or 
the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the half-month. If 
the Sangha is ready, let the Sangha hold the Upava- 
satha service and recite the Pratimoksha. I will re- 
cite the Pratimoksha.' 9 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 85 

"And the bhikshus shall reply : 'We hear it well 
and fix well the mind on it, all of us. ' 10 

"Then the officiating bhikshu shall continue : * He 
who has committed an offence, may confess it ; if there 
be no offence, you shall remain silent ; from your be- 
ing silent I shall understand that the reverend breth- 
ren are free from offences. u 

" 'As a single person who has been asked a ques- 
tion answers it, so also, if before an assembly like this 
a question is solemnly proclaimed three times, an an- 
swer is expected : if a bhikshu, after a threefold procla- 
mation, does not confess an existing offence which he 
remembers, he commits an intentional falsehood. 12 

" 'Now, reverend brethren, an intentional false- 
hood has been declared an impediment by the Blessed 
One. Therefore, by a bhikshu who has committed an 
offence, and remembers it, and desires to become pure, 
an existing offence should be confessed ; for if it has 
been confessed, it is treated duly.' " ^ 

XXXVII. THE SCHISM. 

While the Blessed One dwelt at Kaushambi, a cer- 
tain bhikshu was accused of having committed an of- 
fence, and, as he refused to acknowledge it, the fra- 
ternity pronounced against him a sentence of expul- 
sion. 1 

Now that bhikshu was erudite. He knew the 
dharma, had studied the rules of the order, and was 
wise, learned, intelligent, modest, conscientious, and 
ready to submit himself to discipline. And he went to 
his companions and friends among the bhikshus, say- 
ing : "This is no offence, friends, this is no reason for 
a sentence of expulsion. I am not guilty. The ver- 



86 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

diet is unconstitutional and invalid. Therefore I con- 
sider myself still as a member of the order. May the 
venerable brethren assist me in maintaining my right. " 2 

Those who sided with the expelled brother went to 
the bhikshus who had pronounced the sentence, say- 
ing : "This is no offence "; while the bhikshus who 
had pronounced the sentence replied : "This is an of- 
fence." 3 

Thus altercations and quarrels arose, and the Sangha 
was divided into two parties, reviling and slandering 
one another. 4 

And all these happenings were reported to the 
Blessed One. 5 

Then the Blessed One went to the place where the 
bhikshus were that had pronounced the sentence of 
expulsion, and said to them : "Do not think, O bhik- 
shus, that you are to pronounce expulsion against a 
bhikshu, whatever be the facts of the case, simply by 
saying : i It occurs to us that it is so, and therefore we are 
pleased to proceed thus against our brother. ' Let those 
bhikshus who frivolously pronounce a sentence against 
a brother who knows the dharma and the rules of the 
order, who is learned, wise, and intelligent, modest, 
conscientious, and ready to submit himself to disci- 
pline, stand in awe of causing divisions. They must 
not pronounce a sentence of expulsion against a brother 
merely because he refuses to see his offence." 6 

Then the Blessed One rose and went to the breth- 
ren who sided with the expelled brother and said to 
them : "Do not think, O bhikshus, that if you have 
given offence you need not atone for it, thinking: 'We 
are without offence.' When a bhikshu has committed 
an offence, which he considers no offence, while the 
fraternity consider him as guilty, he should think : 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 87 

1 These brethren know the dharma and the rules of the 
order ; they are learned, wise, intelligent, modest, con- 
scientious, and ready to submit themselves to disci- 
pline ; it is impossible that they should on my account 
act with selfishness or in malice or in delusion or in 
fear.' Let him stand in awe of causing divisions, and 
rather acknowledge his offence on the authority of his 
brethren. " 7 

Both parties continued to hold Upavasatha and 
perform official acts independently of one another ; and 
when their deportment was related to the Blessed One, 
he ruled that the holding of Upavasatha and the per- 
formance of official acts were lawful, unobjectionable, 
and valid for both parties. For he said : "the bhik- 
shus who side with the expelled brother form a different 
communion from those who pronounced the sentence. 
There are venerable brethren in both parties. As they 
do not agree, let them hold Upavasatha and perform 
official acts separately." 8 

And the Blessed One reprimanded the litigious bhik- 
shus saying to them : 9 

" Vulgar people make much noise; but who can 
be blamed when divisions arise in the Sangha? Hatred 
is not appeased in those who think : < He has reviled 
me, he has wronged me, he has injured me.' 10 

"For not by hatred is hatred appeased. Hatred 
is appeased by not-hatred. This is an eternal law. n 

" There are some who do not know the need of self- 
restraint ; if they are quarrelsome we may excuse their 
behavior. But those who know better, should learn 
to live in concord. 12 

" If a man finds a wise friend who lives righteously 
and is constant in his character, he may live with him, 
overcoming all dangers, happy and mindful. 13 



88 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"But if he finds not a friend who lives righteously 
and is constant in his character, let him rather walk 
alone like a king who leaves his empire and the cares 
of his empire behind him to lead a life of retirement 
like a lonely elephant in the forest. 14 

"With fools there is no companionship. Rather 
than to live with men who are selfish, vain, litigious, 
and obstinate let a man walk alone. " K 

And the Blessed One thought to himself: "It is 
no easy task to instruct these headstrong and infatuate 
fools." And he rose from his seat and went away. 16 



XXXVIII. THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF CONCORD. 

The dispute between the parties not being settled, 
the Blessed One left Kaushambi, and wandering from 
place to place he at last came to Shravasti. * 

And in the absence of the Blessed One the quarrels 
grew worse, so that the lay devotees of Kaushambi be- 
came annoyed and they said : " These litigious monks 
are a great nuisance and will bring upon us misfor- 
tunes. Worried by their altercations the Blessed One 
is gone, and has selected another abode for his resi- 
dence. Let us, therefore, neither salute the bhikshus 
nor support them. They are not worthy of wearing 
yellow robes, and must either propitiate the Blessed 
One, or return to the world." 2 

And the bhikshus of Kaushambi, when no longer 
honored and no longer supported by the lay devotees, 
began to repent and said : "Let us go to the Blessed 
One and have him settle the question of our disagree- 
ment." 3 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 89 

And both parties went to Shravasti to the Blessed 
One. And the venerable Shariputra, having heard of 
their arrival, addressed the Blessed One and said : 
"These litigious, disputatious, and quarrelsome bhik- 
shus of Kaushambi, the authors of dissensions, have 
come to Shravasti. How am I to behave, O Lord, to- 
ward those bhikshus. " ' 4 

"Do not scold them, Shariputra," said the Blessed 
One, "for harsh words are pleasant to no one. As- 
sign separate dwelling-places to each party and treat 
them with impartial justice. Listen with patience to 
both parties. He alone who weighs both sides is called 
a muni. When both parties have presented their case, 
let the Sangha come to an agreement and declare the 
establishment of concord." 5 

And Prajapati the matron asked the Blessed One 
for advice, and the Blessed One said : " Let both par- 
ties enjoy the gifts of lay members, be they robes or 
food, as they may need, and let no one receive any no- 
ticeable preference over the other. " 6 

And the venerable Upali, having approached the 
Blessed One asked concerning the re-establishment of 
peace in the Sangha : "Would it be right, O Lord," 
said he, "that the Sangha, to avoid further disputa- 
tions, should declare the restoration of concord without 
inquiring into the matter of the quarrel? " 7 

And the Blessed One said : 8 

" If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of 
concord without having inquired into the matter, the 
declaration is neither right nor lawful. 9 

"There are two ways of re-establishing concord; 
one is in the letter, and the other one is in the spirit 
and in the letter. 10 

"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of 



90 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

concord without having inquired into the matter, the 
peace is concluded in the letter only. But if the Sangha 
after having inquired into the matter and gone to the 
bottom of it decides to declare the re-establishment of 
concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit and also 
in the letter. n 

"The concord re-established in the spirit and in 
the letter is alone right and lawful." 12 

And the Blessed One addressed the bhikshus and 
told them the story of Prince Dirghayu. He said : 13 

"In former times, there lived at Benares a power- 
ful king whose name was Brahmadatta of Kashi; and he 
went to war against Dirgheti, the king of Kosala, for 
he thought, < The kingdom of Kosala is small and Dir- 
gheti will not be able to resist my armies.' 14 

"And Dirgheti, seeing that resistance was impos- 
sible against the great host of the king of Kashi, fled, 
leaving his little kingdom in the hands of Brahmadatta, 
and having wandered from place to place, he came at 
last to Benares, and lived there with his consort in a 
potter's dwelling outside the town. 15 

"And the queen bore him a son and they called him 
Dirghayu. 16 

' i When Dirghayu had grown up, the king thought to 
himself : ' King Brahmadatta has done us great harm, 
and he is fearing our revenge ; he will seek to kill us. 
Should he find us he will slay us all three.' And he 
sent his son away, and Dirghayu having received a 
good education from his father, applied himself dili- 
gently to learn all arts, becoming very skilful and wise. 17 

"At that time the barber of king Dirgheti dwelt at 
Benares, and he saw the king, his former master, and 
being of an avaricious nature betrayed him to king 
Brahmadatta. 18 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. Ql 

"When Brahmadatta, the king of Kashi heard that 
the fugitive king of Kosala lived with his wife, un- 
known and in disguise, a quiet life in a potter's dwell- 
ing, he ordered him and his queen to be bound and 
executed ; and the sheriff to whom the order was given 
seized king Dirgheti and led him to the place of exe- 
cution. B 

"While the captive king was led through the streets 
of Benares he saw his son who had returned to visit 
his parents, and, careful not to betray the presence of 
his son, yet anxious to communicate to him his last 
advice, he cried : ' O Dirghayu, my son ! Do not look 
long, do not look short, for not by hatred is hatred ap- 
peased ; hatred is appeased by not-hatred only.' 20 

" The king of Kosala was executed together with his 
wife, but Dirghayu their son bought strong wine and 
made the guards drunk. When the night arrived he 
laid the bodies of his parents upon a funeral pyre and 
burned them with all honors and religious rites. 21 

"When king Brahmadatta heard of it, he became 
afraid, for he thought, < Dirghayu, the son of king Dir- 
gheti, will take revenge for the death of his parents, 
and if he espies a favorable occasion, he will assassi- 
nate me.' 22 

1 1 Young Dirghayu went to the forest and wept to his 
heart's content. Then he wiped his tears and returned 
to Benares. Hearing that assistants were wanted in 
the royal elephants' stable, he offered his services and 
was engaged by the master of the elephants. 23 

"And it happened that the king heard a sweet voice 
ringing through the night and singing to the lute a 
beautiful song that gladdened his heart. And having 
inquired among his attendants who the singer might 



Q2 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA* 

be, was told that the master of the elephants had in 
his service a young man of great accomplishments, and 
beloved by all his comrades. They said, ' He was wont 
to sing to the lute, and he must have been the singer 
that gladdened the heart of the king. ' 24 

"And the king ordered the young man before him 
and, being much pleased with Dirghayu, gave him em- 
ployment in the royal castle. Observing how wisely 
the youth acted, how modest he was and yet punctili- 
ous in the performance of his work, the king very soon 
gave him a position of trust. 25 

"Now it came to pass that the king went a hunting 
and became separated from his retinue, young Dirghayu 
alone remaining with him. And the king worn out 
from the hunt laid his head into the lap of young Dir- 
ghayu and slept. 26 

"And Dirghayu thought : < This king Brahmadatta 
has done us great injury ; he robbed us of our kingdom 
and slew my father and my mother. He is now in my 
power.' Thinking thus he unsheathed his sword. 27 

"Then Dirghayu thought of the last words of his 
father : l Do not look long, do not look short. For 
not by hatred is hatred appeased. Hatred is appeased 
by not-hatred alone. ' Thinking thus, he put his sword 
back into the sheath. 28 

"The king became restless in his sleep and he awoke, 
and when the youth asked < Why do you look fright- 
ened, O king?' he replied : « My sleep is always rest- 
less because I often dream that young Dirghayu comes 
upon me with his sword. While I lay here with my 
head in your lap I dreamed the dreadful dream again ; 
and I awoke full of terror and alarm. ' ^ 

" Then the youth laying his left hand upon the de- 
fenceless king's head and with his right hand drawing 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 93 

his sword said : 'lam Dirghayu, the son of king Dir- 
gheti, whom you have robbed of his kingdom and slain 
together with his wife, my mother. The time of re- 
venge has come.' 30 

1 < The king seeing himself at the mercy of young Dir- 
ghayu raised his hands and said : ' Grant me my life, 
my dear Dirghayu, grant me my life, my dear Dir- 
ghayu ! ' 31 

"And Dirghayu said without bitterness or ill-will. 
' How can I grant you your life, O king, since my life 
is endangered by you. It is you, O king, who must 
grant me my life. ' 32 

"And the king said : ' Well, my dear Dirghayu, then 
grant me my life, and I will grant you your life. ' 33 

"Thus, king Brahmadatta of Kashi and young Dir- 
ghayu granted each other life and took each other's 
hands and swore an oath not to do any harm to each 
other. 34 

"And king Brahmadatta of Kashi said to young Dir- 
ghayu : ' Why did your father say to you in the hour 
of his death : « ' Do not look long, do not look short, for 
hatred is not appeased by hatred. Hatred is appeased 
by not-hatred alone," — what did your father mean by 
that ? ' 35 

" The youth replied : ' When my father, O king, in 
the hour of his death said : " Not long," he meant let 
not your hatred last long. And when my father said, 
"Not short," he meant, Do not be hasty to fall out with 
your friends. And when he said, " For not by hatred 
is hatred appeased; hatred is appeased by not-hatred," 
he meant this : You have killed my father and mother, 
O king. If I should deprive you of life, then your par- 
tisans would deprive me of life ; my partisans again 
would deprive those of life. Thus by hatred, hatred 



94 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

would not be appeased. But now, O king, you have 
granted me my life, and I have granted you your life ; 
thus by not-hatred hatred has been appeased.' 

1 ' Then king Brahmadatta of Kashi thought: * How 
wise is young Dirghayu that he understands in its full 
extent the meaning of what his father spoke so con- 
cisely. ' 37 

"And the king gave him back his father's troops and 
vehicles, his realm, his treasuries, and store-houses, 
and gave him his daughter in marriage." 

When the Blessed One had told this story to the 
bhikshus, he dismissed them. 39 

And the bhikshus met in conference and investi- 
gated the question of their dissensions, and having 
come to the bottom of the matter, the concord of the 
Sangha was re-established. 40 



XXXIX. THE BHIKSHUS REBUKED. 

And it happened that the Blessed One walked up 
and down in the open air unshod. 1 

When the elders saw that the Blessed One walked 
unshod, they put away their shoes and did likewise. 
But the novices did not mind the example of their elders 
and kept their feet covered. 2 

Some of the brethren noticed the irreverent beha- 
vior of the novices and told the Blessed One ; and the 
Blessed One rebuked the novices and said: "If the 
brethren, even now, while I am yet living, show so 
little respect and courtesy to one another, what will 
they do when I have passed away? 3 

"And the Blessed One was filled with anxiety for 
the welfare of the truth ; and he continued : 4 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 95 

"Even the laymen, O bhikshus, who move in the 
world, pursuing some handicraft that they may pro- 
cure them a living, will be respectful, affectionate, and 
hospitable to their teachers. Do you, therefore, O 
bhikshus, so let your light shine forth, that you, hav- 
ing left the world and devoted your entire life to reli- 
gion and to religious discipline, may observe the rules 
of decency, be respectful, affectionate, and hospitable 
to your teachers and superiors, or those who rank as 
your teachers and superiors. Your demeanor, O bhik- 
shus, will not conduce to the conversion of the uncon- 
verted, and to the increase of the number of the faith- 
ful. It will serve, O bhikshus, to repel the uncon- 
verted and estrange them." 5 

XL. DEVADATTA. 

When Devadatta, the son of the Suprabuddha, and 
a brother of Yashodhara, became a disciple, he cher- 
ished the hope of attaining the same distinctions and 
honors as Gautama Siddhartha. His ambitions being 
disappointed, he conceived in his heart a jealous ha- 
tred, and, attempting to excel the Perfect One in vir- 
tue, he found fault with his regulations and reproved 
them as too lenient. J 

Devadatta went to Rajagriha and gained the ear of 
Ajatashatru, the son of king Bimbisara. And Ajata- 
shatru built a new vihara for Devadatta, and founded a 
sect whose disciples were pledged* to severe rules and 
self-mortification. 2 

Soon afterwards the Blessed One himself came to 
Rajagriha and stayed at the Venuvana vihara. 3 

Devadatta called on the Blessed One, requesting 
him to sanction his rules of greater stringency, in which 



96 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

a greater holiness might be procured. " The body," he 
said, "consists of its thirty- two parts and has no divine 
^/ attributes. It is conceived in sin and born in corrup- 
tion. Its attributes are liability to pain and the disso- 
lution of what is impermanent. It is the receptacle 
of karma which is the curse of our former existences ; 
it is the dwelling-place of sin and diseases and its or- 
gans constantly discharge disgusting secretions. Its 
end is death and its goal the charnel house. Such being 
the condition of the body it behooves us to treat it as 
a carcass full of abomination and to clothe it in such 
rags only as have been gathered in cemeteries or upon 
dung-hills." * 

The Blessed One said : " Truly, the body is full of 
impurity and its end is the charnel house, for it is im- 
permanent and destined to be dissolved into its ele- 
ments. But being the receptacle of karma, it lies in 
your power to make it a vessel of truth and not of sin. 
It is not good to indulge in the pleasures of the body, 
but neither is it good to neglect our bodily needs and 
to heap filth upon impurities. The lamp that is not 
cleansed and not filled with oil will be extinguished, 
and a body that is unkempt, unwashed, and weakened 
by penance will not be a fit receptacle for the light of 
truth. Your rules will not lead the disciples on the 
middle path which I have taught. Certainly, no one 
can be prevented from keeping more stringent rules, 
if he sees fit to do so, but they should not be imposed 
upon any one, for they are unnecessary." 5 

Thus the Tathagata refused Devadatta's proposi- 
tion ; and Devadatta left Buddha and went into the 
vihara speaking evil of the Lord's path of salvation as 
too lenient and altogether insufficient. 6 

When the Blessed One heard of Devadatta's in- 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 97 

trigues, he said : "Amongst men there is no one who 
is not blamed. People blame him who sits silent and 
him who speaks, they also blame the man who preaches 
the middle path." 7 

Devadatta instigated Ajatashatru to plot against his 
father Bimbisara, the king, to make himself king in the 
latter's place ; and Bimbisara died leaving the kingdom 
of Magadha to his son Ajatashatru. 8 

The new king listened to the evil advice of Deva- 
datta, and he gave orders to take the life of the Tatha- 
gata. However, the murderers sent out to kill the 
Lord could not perform their wicked deed, and became 
converted as soon as they saw him and listened to his 
preaching. The rock hurled down from a precipice 
upon the great Master split in twain, and both pieces 
passed by without doing him harm. The wild elephant 
let loose to destroy the Lord, became gentle in his 
presence ; and Ajatashatru, suffering greatly from the 
pangs of his conscience, went to the Blessed One and 
sought peace in his distress. 9 

The Blessed One received Ajatashatru kindly and 
taught him the way of salvation ; but Devadatta still 
tried to become the founder of a religious school of his 
own. 10 

Devadatta did not succeed in his plans and having 
been abandoned by many of his disciples, he fell sick, 
and he repented. He entreated those who had re- 
mained with him to carry his litter to Buddha, say- 
ing : "Take me, children, take me to him; though 
I have done evil to him, I am his brother-in-law. For 
the sake of our relationship Buddha will save me." 
And they obeyed, although reluctantly. n 

And Devadatta in his impatience to see the Blessed 
One rose from his litter while his carriers were wash- 



98 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

ing their hands. But his feet burned under him ; he 
sank to the ground ; and having repeated the praise 
of Buddha died. 12 



XLI. THE GOAL. 

And the Blessed One thus addressed the bhik- 
shus : * 

"It is through not understanding and grasping the 
four noble truths, O bhikshus, that we have had to run 
so long and to wander in this weary path of transmi- 
gration, both you and I. 2 

"The soul migrates through all forms, from the 
stone, through plants and all kinds of animal bodies, 
through men of various characters, until it reaches per- 
fect enlightenment in the Buddha. 3 

"All creatures are what they are through the karma 
of their deeds done in former and in present exist- 
ences. 4 

"The rational nature of man is the spark of en- 
lightenment, which, however, once procured will re- 
main a lasting possession. But new births are required 
to insure a transmigration to the summit of existence, 
where the unmeasurable light is gained which is the 
source of all righteousness. 5 

"Having attained this higher birth, I have found 
the truth and taught you the noble path that leads to 
the glad city of peace. 6 

" I have shown you the way to the lake of Ambro- 
sia, which washes away all sin. 7 

" I have given you the refreshing drink called the 
perception of truth, and he who drinks it becomes free 
from excitement, passion, and wrong-doing. 

"The very gods envy the bliss of him who has es- 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA S RELIGION. 99 

caped from the floods of passion and climbed the shores 
of Nirvana. His heart is cleansed from all defilement 
and free from all illusion. 9 

" He is like unto the lotus which grows in the wa- 
ter yet not a drop of water adheres to its petals. 10 

" The man who walks in the noble path lives in 
the world, and yet his heart is not defiled by worldly 
desires. n 

"As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, pro- 
tects her son, her only son, so he cultivates good-will 
without measure among all beings. 12 

" Let a man remain steadfastly in this state of mind, 
whether he is standing or walking, awake or asleep, 
suffering from sickness, or enjoying good health, living 
or dying : for this state of heart is the best in the 
world. 13 

"He who does not see the four noble truths has 
still a long path to traverse by repeated births through 
the desert of ignorance with its mirages of illusion and 
through the morasses of sin. 14 

"But now they are grasped, the cause of further 
migrations and aberrations is removed. The goal is 
reached. The craving of selfishness is destroyed, and 
the truth is attained. 15 

"This is true deliverance; this is salvation; this 
is heaven and the bliss of a life immortal." 18 

XLII. MIRACLES FORBIDDEN. 

Jyotishka, the son of Subhadra, was a householder 
living in Rajagriha. Having received a precious bowl 
of sandal-wood decorated with jewels, he erected a long 
pole before his house and put the bowl on its top with 
this legend : " Should a shramana take this bowl down 



lOO THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

without using a ladder or a stick with a hook, but by 
magic power, he shall receive whatever he desires. " * 

And the people came to the Blessed One, full of 
wonder and their mouths overflowing with praise, say- 
ing : " Great is the Tathagata. His disciples perform 
miracles. Kashyapa, the disciple of Buddha, saw the 
bowl on Jyotishka's pole, and, stretching out his hand, 
he took it down, carrying it away in triumph to the 
vihara." 2 

When the Blessed One heard what had happened, 
he went to Kashyapa, and, breaking the bowl to pieces, 
forbade his disciples to perform miracles of any kind. 3 

Soon after this it happened that in one of the rainy 
seasons many bhikshus were staying in the Vriji terri- 
tory during a famine. And one of the bhikshus pro- 
posed to his brethren that they should praise one an- 
other to the householders of the village, saying : ' ' This 
bhikshu is a saint ; he has seen celestial visions ; and 
that bhikshu possesses supernatural gifts ; he can work 
miracles." And the villagers said : " It is lucky, very 
lucky for us, that such saints are spending the rainy 
season with us." And they gave willingly and abun- 
dantly, and the bhikshus prospered and did not suffer 
from the famine. 4 

When the Blessed One heard it, he told Ananda to 
call the bhikshus together, and he asked them : "Tell 
me, O bhikshus, when does a bhikshu cease to be a 
bhikshu?" 5 

And Shariputra replied : 6 

"An ordained disciple must not commit any un- 
chaste act. The disciple who commits an unchaste act 
is no longer a disciple of the Shakyamuni. 7 

"Again, an ordained disciple must not take except 
what has been given him. The disciple who takes, be 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA S RELIGION. IOI 

it so little as a penny's worth, is no longer a disciple 
of the Shakyamuni. 8 

"And lastly, an ordained disciple must not know- 
ingly and malignantly deprive any harmless creature of 
life, not even an earth-worm or an ant. The disciple 
who knowingly and malignantly deprives any harmless 
creature of its life is no longer a disciple of the Shakya- 
muni. 9 

"These are the three great prohibitions. " 10 

And the Blessed One addressed the bhikshus and 
said : u 

"There is another great prohibition which I pro- 
claim to you : n 

"An ordained disciple must not boast of any super- 
human perfection. The disciple who with evil intent 
and from covetousness boasts of a superhuman per- 
fection, be it celestial visions or miracles, is no longer 
a disciple of the Shakyamuni. B 

"I forbid you, O bhikshus, to employ any spells or 
supplications, for they are useless, since the law of 
karma governs all things. He who attempts to per- 
form miracles has not understood the doctrine of the 
Tathagata." 14 



XLIII. THE VANITY OF WORLDLINESS. 

There was a poet by the name of Che who had ac- 
quired the spotless eye of truth, and he believed in 
Buddha, whose doctrine gave him peace of mind and 
comfort in the hour of affliction. 1 

And it happened that an epidemic swept over the 
country in which he lived, so that many died, and the 
people were terrified. Some of them trembled with 



102 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

fright, and in anticipation of their fate were smitten 
with all the horrors of death before they died, while 
others began to be merry, shouting loudly, " Let us 
enjoy ourselves to-day, for we know not whether to- 
morrow we shall live "; yet was their laughter no genu- 
ine gladness, but a mere pretence and affectation. 2 

Among all these worldly men and women trembling 
with anxiety, the Buddhist poet lived in the time of 
the pestilence, as usual, calm and undisturbed, helping 
wherever he could and ministering unto the sick, sooth- 
ing their pains by medicine and religious consolation. 3 

And a man came to him and said : 4 

" My heart is nervous and excited, for I see people 
die. I am not anxious about others, but I tremble 
because of myself. Help me ; cure me of my fear. " 6 

And the poet said : " There is help for him who 
has compassion on others, but there is no help for 
thee so long as thou clingest to thine own self alone. 
Hard times try the souls of men and teach them right- 
eousness and charity. Canst thou witness these sad 
sights around thee and still be filled with selfishness? 
Canst thou see thy brothers, sisters, and friends suffer, 
yet not forget the petty cravings and lust of thy own 
heart?" 6 

Observing the desolation in the soul of the pleasure- 
seeking man, the Buddhist poet composed this song 
and taught it to the brethren in the vihara : 7 

" Unless you take refuge in Buddha and find rest in 

Nirvana 
Everything is vanity — desolation and vanity. 
To see the world is idle, and to enjoy life is empty. 
The world, including man, is but like a phantom, and 

the hope of heaven is as a mirage. 8 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. IO3 

The worldling seeks pleasures and fattens himself like 

a caged fowl. 
But the Buddhist saint flies up to the sun like the wild 

crane. 
The fowl in the coop has her food, but she will soon be 

boiled in the pot. 
No provisions are given to the wild crane, but the 

heavens and the earth are his." 9 

And the poet Che said : "The times are hard and 
teach the people a lesson ; yet do they not heed it." 
And he composed another poem on the vanity of world- 
iiness : 10 

"It is good to reform, and it is good to exhort people 

to reform. 
The things of the world will be all swept away. 
Let others be busy and buried with care. 
My mind all unvexed shall be pure. u 

After pleasures they hanker and find no satisfaction ; 
Riches they covet and can never have enough. 
They are like unto puppets held up by a string. 
When the string breaks they come down with a shock. 12 

In the domain of death there are neither great nor 

small ; 
Neither gold nor silver is used, nor precious jewels. 
No distinction is made between the high and the low. 
And daily the dead are buried beneath the fragrant 

sod. 13 

Look at the sun setting behind the western hills. 
You lie down to rest, but soon the cock will announce 

the returning morn. 
Reform to-day and do not wait until it be too late. 
Do not say it is early, for the time quickly passes by. 14 



104 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

It is good to reform and it is good to exhort people to 
reform, 

It is good to lead a life of righteousness and take ref- 
uge in Buddha's name. 

Your talents may reach to the skies, your wealth may 
be untold — 

But all is vain unless you attain the peace of Nir- 
vana." 1S 

XLIV. PRECEPTS FOR THE NOVICES. 

The novices of the order came to Buddha and asked 
him concerning the precepts which they had to prac- 
tise, and the Blessed One said : *• 

" Those who wish to enter upon the path so as to be 
truly converted and become faithful followers of Bud- 
dha must attend to four things : Firstly they must keep 
companionship with the good. Secondly, they must 
hear the law. Thirdly, they must seek enlightenment 
by reflexion, and fourthly, they must practise virtue. 
These, O novices, are the four stages of the path. 2 

"Lest there be any doubt about your habits of life, 
I prescribe to you ten precepts. 3 

" The ten precepts prescribed to novices are : ab- 
stinence from destroying life ; abstinence from steal- 
ing : abstinence from impurity ; abstinence from lying ; 
abstinence from intoxicating liquors ; abstinence from 
eating at forbidden times ; abstinence from dancing 
and seeing spectacles ; abstinence from garlands, 
scents, unguents, ornaments, and finery ; abstinence 
from the use of high or broad beds ; abstinence from 
accepting gold or silver. 4 

"I prescribe, O bhikshus, these ten precepts for 
the exercise of the novices." 5 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. 105 



XLV. RULES FOR THE ORDER. 

And Buddha said : 1 

"Who is the good man? The religious man is 
good. And who is religious? He who agrees with 
truth. ^ 2 

"Who is the strong man? The patient man is 
strong, for he has conquered self and all the petulance 
of self. He is calm, enduring, and blameless. 3 

" Who is the wise man? He who has obtained in- 
sight into the nature of his own being. He keeps his 
mind free from the pollution of selfishness and leads a 
life of truth." 4 

And the Blessed One addressed the bhikshus and 
gave them these rules of restriction : 5 

"Do not destroy life. Do not take that which is not 
given. Do not tell lies. Abstain from intoxication. 
Commit no adultery. 6 " 

"These are the five commandments which I give 
unto you all, and for those who take the vow I enjoin in 
addition the following three rules : 7 

" Do not eat food at night. Do not wear garlands 
or perfumes. Do not sleep in soft couches but on mats 
spread on the ground. 8 

" Moreover he who is of a pious mind will observe 
the Upavasatha or Sabbath and take delight in sus- 
taining the order according to his ability." 9 

XLVI. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

Buddha said : "All acts of living creatures become 
bad by ten things, and by avoiding the ten things they 



106 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

become good. There are three sins of the body, four 
sins of the tongue, and three sins of the mind. 1 

"The three sins of the body are, murder, theft, 
and adultery. 2 

"The four sins of the tongue are, lying, slander, 
abuse, and idle talk. ~~~ 3 

"The three sins of the mind are, covetqusness, 
hatred, and error. 4 

"Therefore, I give you these commandments : 5 

" Kill not, but have regard for life. 6 

^ " Steal not, neither do ye rob ; but help everybody 

fii to be master of the fruits of his labor. 7 

"Abstain from all impurity, and lead a life of chas- 
tity. _ 8 

" Lie not, but be truthful, and speak the truth with 

discretion, not so as to do harm, but in a loving heart 

/ and wisely. 9 

" Invent not evil reports, neither do ye repeat them. 
Carp not, but look for the good sides of your fellow- 
beings, so that you may with sincerity defend them 
against their enemies. 10 

"Swear not, but speak decently and with dignity. 11 

"Waste not the time with empty words, but speak 
to the purpose or keep silence. u 

"Covet not, nor envy, but rejoice at the fortunes of 
other people. 13 

" Cleanse your heart of malice ; cast out all anger, 
spite, and ill-will ; cherish no hatred, not even against 
your slanderer, nor against those who do you harm, but 
embrace all living beings with kindness and benevo- 
lence. 14 

"Free your mind of ignorance and be anxious to 
learn the truth, especially in the one thing that is 
needed, lest you fall a prey either to scepticism or to 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA S RELIGION. 107 

errors. Scepticism will make you indifferent and er- 
rors will lead you astray so that you shall not find the 
noble path that leads to life eternal. " 15 

XLVII. THE PREACHER'S MISSION. 

And the Blessed One said to his disciples : * 

" When I have passed away and can no longer ad- 
dress you, and edify your minds with religious dis- 
course, select from among you men of good family and 
education to preach the truth in my stead. And let 
those men be invested with the robes of the Tathagata, 
let them enter into the abode of the Tathagata, and 
occupy the pulpit of the Tathagata. 2 

" The robe of the Tathagata is sublime forbearance 
and patience. The abode of the Tathagata is charity 
and love of all beings. The pulpit of the Tathagata 
is the comprehension of the good law in its abstract 
meaning as well as in its particular application. 3 

" The preacher must propound the truth with un- 
shrinking mind. He must have the power of persua- 
sion rooted in virtue and in strict fidelity to his vows. 4 

"The preacher must keep in his proper sphere and 
be steady in his course. He must not flatter his van- 
ity by seeking the company of the great. Nor must he 
keep company with persons who are frivolous and im- 
moral. When in temptation, he should constantly 
think of Buddha and he will conquer. 5 

"All who come to hear the doctrine, the preacher 
must receive with benevolence, and his sermon must be 
without invidiousness. 6 

"The preacher must not be prone to carp at others, 
or to blame other preachers ; nor speak scandal, nor 
propagate bitter words. He must not mention by name 



108 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

other disciples to vituperate them and reproach their 
demeanor. 7 

"Clad in a clean robe, dyed with good color, with 
appropriate undergarments, he must ascend the pulpit 
with a mind free from blame and at peace with the 
whole world. 8 

"He must not take delight in quarrelous disputa- 
tions or engage in controversies so as to show the 
superiority of his talents, but be calm and composed. 9 

"No hostile feelings shall reside in his heart, and 
he must never abandon the disposition of charity to- 
ward all beings. His sole aim must be that all beings 
become Buddhas. 10 

"Let the preacher apply himself with zeal to his 
work, and the Tathagata will show to him the body of 
the holy law in its transcendent glory. He shall be 
honored as one whom the Tathagata has blessed. The 
Tathagata blesses the preacher and also those who 
reverently listen to him and joyfully accept the doc- 
trine. u 

"All those who receive the truth will find perfect 
enlightenment. And, verily, such is the power of the 
doctrine that even by the reading of a single stanza, 
or by reciting, copying, and keeping in mind a single 
sentence of the good law, persons may be converted to 
the truth and enter the path of righteousness which 
leads to deliverance from evil. 12 

"Creatures that are swayed by impure passions, 
when they listen to the voice, will be purified. The 
ignorant who are infatuated with the follies of the 
world will, when pondering on the profundity of the 
doctrine, acquire wisdom. Those who act under the 
impulse of hatred will, when taking refuge in Buddha, 
be filled with good-will and love. 13 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHA'S RELIGION. IOg 

"A preacher must be full of energy and cheerful 
hope, never tiring and never despairing of final suc- 
cess. 14 

"A preacher must be like a man who in quest of 
water digs a well in an arid tract of land. So long as 
he sees that the sand is dry and white, he knows that 
the water is still far off. But let him not be troubled 
or give up the task as hopeless. The work of remov- 
ing the dry sand must be done so that he can dig down 
deeper into the ground. And often the deeper he has 
to dig, the cooler and purer and more refreshing will 
the water be. 15 

" When after some time of digging he sees that the 
sand becomes moist, he accepts it as a foretoken that 
the water is near. 16 

" So long as the people do not listen to the words 
of truth, the preacher knows that he has to dig deeper 
into their hearts ; but when they begin to heed his 
words he apprehends that they will soon attain enlight- 
enment. 17 

"Into your hands, O ye men of good family and 
education who take the vow of preaching the words of 
the Tathagata, the Blessed One transfers, intrusts, and 
commands the good law of truth. 18 

"Receive the good law of truth, keep it, read and 
re-read it, fathom it, promulgate it, and preach it to 
all beings in all the quarters of the universe. 19 

"The Tathagata is not avaricious, nor narrow- 
minded, and he is willing to impart the perfect Buddha- 
knowledge unto all who are ready and willing to re- 
ceive it. Be ye like unto him. Imitate him and follow 
his example in bounteously giving, showing, and be- 
stowing the truth. 20 

"Gather round you hearers who love to listen to 



IIO THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

the benign and comforting words of the law ; rouse the 
unbelievers to accept the truth and fill them with de- 
light and joy. Quicken them, edify them, and lift 
them higher and higher until they see the truth face to 
face in all its splendor and infinite glory." 21 

When the Blessed One had thus spoken, the dis- 
ciples said : 22 

"O thou who rejoicest in kindness having its source 
in compassion, thou great cloud of good qualities and 
of benevolent mind, thou quenchest the fire that vex- 
eth living beings, thou pourest out nectar, the rain of 
the law ! 23 

"We shall do, O Lord, what the Tathagata com- 
mands. We shall fulfil his behest ; the Lord shall find 
us obedient to his words. " ' 2i 

And this vow of the disciples resounded through 
the universe, and like an echo it came back from all 
the Bodhisattvas who are to be and will come to preach 
the good law of Truth. 25 

And the Blessed One said: "The Tathagata is 
like unto a powerful king who rules his kingdom with 
righteousness, but being attacked by envious enemies 
goes out to wage war against his foes. When the king 
sees his soldiers fighting he is delighted with their 
gallantry and will bestow upon them donations of all 
kinds. Ye are the soldiers of the Tathagata, while Mara, 
the Evil One, is the enemy who must be conquered. 
And the Tathagata will give to his soldiers the city of 
Nirvana, the great capital of the good law. And when 
the enemy is overcome, the Dharma-raja, the great 
king of truth, will bestow upon all his disciples the 
most precious crown jewel which brings perfect 
enlightenment, supreme wisdom, and undisturbed 
peace." 26 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 



/ 



XLVIII. THE DHARMAPADA. 

THIS is the Dharmapada, the path of religion pur- 
sued by those who are Buddha's followers : 1 

All that we are is the result of what we have thought: 
it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our '! 
thoughts. 2 

By oneself evil is done ; by oneself one suffers ; by \ 
oneself evil is left undone ; by oneself one is purified. \ 
Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can \ 
purify another. 3 

You yourself must make an effort. The Tathagatas 
are only preachers. The thoughtful who enter the way 
are freed from the bondage of Mara. 4 

He who does not rouse himself when it is time to 
rise, who, though young and strong, is full of sloth, 
whose will and thoughts are weak, that lazy and idle 
man will never find the way to enlightenment. 5 

If a man hold himself dear, let him watch himself / 
carefully; the truth guards him who guards his self. 6 I 

If a man makes himself as he teaches others to be, ■ 
then, being himself subdued, he may subdue others ; j 
one's own self is indeed difficult to subdue. 7 

If one man conquers in battle a thousand times a 
thousand men, and if another conquer himself, he is 
the greatest of conquerors. 8 



112 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

It is the habit of fools, be they laymen or members 
of the clergy, to think, "this is done by me. May 
others be subject to me. In this or that transaction a 
prominent part should be played by me. " Fools do not 
care for the duty to be performed or the aim to be 
reached, but think of their self alone. Everything is 
but a pedestal of their vanity. 9 

Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy 
to do ; what is beneficial and good, that is very diffi- 
cult to do. 10 

If anything is to be done, let a man do it, let him 
attack it vigorously! u 

Before long, alas! this body will lie on the earth, 
despised, without understanding, like a useless log; 
yet our thoughts will endure. They will be thought 
again, and will produce action. Good thoughts will 
produce good actions, and bad thoughts will produce 
bad actions. VL 

Earnestness is the path of immortality, thought- 
lessness the path of death. Those who are in earnest 
do not die ; those who are thoughtless are as if dead 
already. 13 

Those who imagine truth in untruth, and see un- 
truth in truth, never arrive at truth, but follow vain 
desires. They who know truth in truth, and untruth 
in untruth, arrive at truth, and follow true desires. 14 

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, pas- 
sion will break through an unreflecting mind. As rain 
does not break through a well-thatched house, passion 
will not break through a well-reflecting mind. 15 

Well-makers lead the water wherever they like ; 
fletchers bend the arrow ; carpenters bend a log of 
wood ; wise people fashion, themse lves ; wise people 
falter not amidst blame and praise. Having listened 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 113 

to the law, they become serene, like a deep, smooth, 
and still lake. 16 

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain 
follows him as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that 
draws the carriage. 17 

An evil deed is better left undone, for a man will 
repent of it afterwards ; a good deed is better done, 
for having done it one will not repent. 18 

If a man commits a sin let him not do it again ; let 
him not delight in sin ; pain is the outcome of evil. If 
a man does what is good, let him do it again ; let him 
delight in it ; happiness is the outcome of good. 19 

Let no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart, 
" It will not come nigh unto me." As by the falling of 
water-drops a water-pot is rilled, so the fool becomes 
full of evil, though he gather it little by little. 20 

Let no man think lightly of good, saying in his 
heart, "It will not come nigh unto me. " As by the fall- 
ing of water-drops a water-pot is filled, so the wise man 
becomes full of good, though he gather it little by little. 21 

He who lives for pleasure only, his senses uncon- 
trolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, him 
Mara, the tempter, will certainly overthrow, as the 
wind throws down a weak tree. He who lives without 
looking for pleasures, his senses well-controlled, mod- 
erate in his food, faithful and strong, him Mara will 
certainly not overthrow, any more than the wind throws 
down a rocky mountain. 22 

The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least 
so far. But a fool who thinks himself wise, he is a fool 1 
indeed. 23 

To the sinful man sin appears sweet as honey; he 
looks upon it as pleasant so long as it bears no fruit ; 
but when its fruit ripens, then he looks upon it as sin. 



114 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

And so the good man looks upon the goodness of the 
dharma as a burden and an evil so long as it bears no 
fruit ; but when its fruit ripens, then he sees its good- 
ness. 24 

A hater may do great harm to a hater, or an enemy 
to an enemy; but a wrongly-directed mind will do 
greater mischief unto himself. A mother, a father, or 
any other relative will do much good; but a well- 
directed mind will do greater service unto himself. 25 

He whose wickedness is very great brings himself 
down to that state where his enemy wishes him to be. 
He himself is his greatest enemy. Thus a creeper 
destroys the life of a tree on which it finds support. 26 

Do not direct thy thought to what gives pleasure, 
that thou mayest not cry out when burning, "This is 
pain." The wicked man burns by his own deeds, as 
if burnt by fire. 27 

Pleasures destroy the foolish ; the foolish man by 
his thirst for pleasures destroys himself as if he were 
his own enemy. The fields are damaged by hurricanes 
and weeds ; mankind is damaged by passion, by hatred, 
by vanity, and by lust. 28 

Let no man ever take into consideration whether a 
thing is pleasant or unpleasant. The love of pleasure 
begets grief and the dread of pain causes fear ; he who 
is free from the love of pleasure and the dread of pain 
knows neither grief nor fear. ^ 

He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give 
himself to meditation, forgetting the real aim of life 
and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who 
has exerted himself in meditation. 30 

The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of 
oneself is difficult to perceive. A man winnows his 



/ 



r 

i 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 115 

neighbor's faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides, 
as a cheat hides the false die from the gambler. 31 

If a man looks after the faults of others, and is al- 
ways inclined to take offence, his own passions will 
grow, and he is far from the destruction of passions. m 

Not about the perversities of others, not about their 
sins of commission or omission, but about his own mis 
deeds and negligences alone should a sage be wor 
ried. 

Good people shine from afar, like the snowy moun- 
tains ; bad people are not seen, like arrows shot by 
night. M 

If a man by causing pain to others, wishes to ob- 
tain pleasure for himself, he, entangled in the bonds of 
selfishness, will never be free from hatred. ^ 

Let a man overcome anger by love, let him over- 
come evil by good ; let him overcome the greedy by 
liberality, the liar by truth ! 36 

For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time ; 
hatred ceases by love, this is an old_ rule. 37 

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger ; g ive, if 
thou art asked ; by these three steps thou wilt become 
divine. 38 

Let a wise man blow off the impurities of his self, 
as a smith blows off the impurities of silver, one by 
one, little by little, and from time to time. 3D 

Lead others, not by violence, but by law and 
equity. 40 

He who possesses virtue and intelligence, who is 
just, speaks the truth, and does what is his own busi- * 
ness, him the world will hold dear. 41 

As the bee collects nectar and departs without in-^ 
juring the flower, or its color or scent, so let a sage 
dwell in the village. 42 



Il6 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

If a traveller does not meet with one who is his 
better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary 
journey ; there is no companionship with a fool. 43 

Long is the night to him who is awake ; long is a 
mile to him who is tired ; long is life to the foolish 
who do not know the true religion. 44 

Better than living a hundred years, not seeing the 
highest religion, is one day in the life of a man who 
sees the highest religion. 45 

Some form their dharma arbitrarily and fabricate it 
artificially; they advance complex speculations and 
imagine that good results are attainable only by the 
acceptance of their theories ; yet the truth is but one ; 
there are not many different truths in the world. Hav- 
ing reflected on the various theories, we have gone 
into the yoke with him who has shaken off all sin. But 
shall we be able to proceed together with him ? 46 

The best of ways is the eightfold. This is the way, 
there is no other that leads to the purifying of intelli- 
gence. Go on this way ! Everything else is the deceit 
of Mara, the tempter. If you go on this way, you will 
make an end of pain ! Says the Tathagata, The way 
was preached by me, when I had understood the re- 
moval of the thorn in the flesh. 47 

Not only by discipline and vows, not only by much 
learning, do I earn the happiness of release which no 
worldling can know. Bhikshu, be not confident as 
long as thou hast not attained the extinction of thirst. 
The extinction of sinful desire is the highest religion. 48 

The gift of religion exceeds all gifts ; the sweetness 
of religion exceeds all sweetness ; the delight in reli- 
gion exceeds all delights ; the extinction of thirst over- 
comes all pain. 49 

Few are there among men who cross the river and 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 117 

reach the goal. The great multitudes are running up 
and down the shore ; but there is no suffering for him 
who has finished his journey. 50 

As the lily will grow full of sweet perfume and de- 
light upon a heap of rubbish, thus the disciple of the 
truly enlightened Buddha shines forth by his wisdom 
among those who are like rubbish, among the people 
that walk in darkness. 51 

Let us live happily then, not hating those who hate 
us ! among men who hate us let us dwell free from 
hatred ! 52 

Let us live happily then, free from all ailments 
among the ailing ! among men who are ailing let us 
dwell free from ailments ! 53 

Let us live happily, then, free from greed among 
the greedy ! among men who are greedy let us dwell 
free from greed ! M 

The sun is bright by day, the moon shines by night, 
the warrior is bright in his armor, thinkers are bright 
in their meditation ; but among all the brightest with 
splendor day and night is Buddha, the Awakened, the 
Holy, the Blessed. 55 

XLIX. THE TWO BRAHMANS. 

At one time when the Blessed One was journeying 
through Kosala he came to the Brahman village which 
is called Manasakrita. There he stayed in a mango 
grove. 1 

And two young Brahmans came to him who were 
of different schools. One was named Vasishtha and the 
other Bharadvaja. And Vasishtha said to the Blessed 
One: 2 

"We have a dispute as to the true path. I say the 



Il8 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

straight path which leads unto a union with Brahma 
is that which has been announced by the Brahman 
Paushkarasadi, while my friend says the straight path 
which leads unto a union with Brahma is that which 
has been announced by the Brahman Tarukshya. 3 

"Now, regarding your high reputation, O shra- 
mana, and knowing that you are called the Enlight- 
ened One, the teacher of men and gods, the Blessed 
Buddha, we have come to ask you, are all these paths 
saving paths? There are many roads all around our 
village, and all lead to Manasakrita. Is it just so with 
the paths of the Brahmans? Are all paths saving 
paths?" 4 

And the Blessed One proposed these questions to 
the two Brahmans : " Do you think that all paths are 
right?" 6 

Both answered and said: "Yes, Gautama, we 
think so." 6 

"But tell me," continued Buddha, "has anyone 
of the Brahmans, versed in the Vedas, seen Brahma 
face to face?" 7 

" No, Sir ! " was the reply. 8 

"But, then," said the Blessed One, "has any 
teacher of the Brahmans, versed in the Vedas, seen 
Brahma face to face? " 9 

The two Brahmans said : "No, Sir." 10 

"But, then," said the Blessed One, "has any one 
of the authors of the Vedas seen Brahma face to 
face?" n 

Again the two Brahmans denied the question, and 
the Blessed One proposed an illustration ; he said : 12 

"It is as if a man should make a staircase in the 
place where four roads cross, to mount up into a man- 
sion. And people should ask him, ' Where, good 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. Iig 

friend, is this mansion, to mount up into which you 
are making this staircase ; do you know whether it is 
in the east, or in the south, or in the west, or in the north? 
Whether it is high, or low, or of medium size?' And 
when so asked he should answer, c I know it not. ' And 
people should say to him, 'But, then, good friend, you 
are making a staircase to mount up into something — 
taking it for a mansion — which all the while you know 
not, neither have you seen it. ' And when so asked he 
should answer, 'That is exactly what I do.' What 
would you think of him? Would you not say that the 
talk of that man was foolish talk? " u 

"In sooth, Gautama," said the two Brahmans, "it 
would be foolish talk ! " u 

The Blessed One continued : "Then the Brahmans 
should say, ' We show you the way unto a union of 
what we know not and what we have seen not.' This 
being the substance of Brahman lore, does it not fol- 
low that their task is vain? " 15 

" It does follow," replied Bharadvaja. 16 

Said the Blessed One : "Thus it is impossible that 
Brahmans versed in the three Vedas should be able to 
show the way to a state of union with that which they 
neither know nor have seen. Just as when a string of 
blind men are clinging one to the other. Neither can 
the foremost see, nor can those in the middle see, nor 
can the hindmost see. Even so, methinks, the talk of 
the Brahmans versed in the three Vedas is but blind 
talk ; it is ridiculous, consists of mere words, and is a 
vain and empty thing. " 17 

"Now suppose," added the Blessed One, "that a 
man should come hither to the bank of the river, and, 
having some business on the other side, should want to 
cross. Do you suppose that if he were to invoke the 



120 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

other bank of the river to come over to him on this 
side, the bank would come on account of his pray- 
ing ? " 18 

"Certainly not, Gautama." 19 

"Yet this is the way of the Brahmans. They omit 
the practice of those qualities which really make a man 
a Brahman, and say, ' Indra, we call upon you ; Soma, 
we call upon you ; Varuna, we call upon you ; Brahma, 
we call upon you. ' Verily, it is not possible that these 
Brahmans, on account of their invocations, prayers, 
and praises, should after death be united with 
Brahma." 20 

"Now tell me," continued Buddha, "what do the 
Brahmans say of Brahma? Is his mind full of lust?" 21 

And when the Brahmans denied the question, Bud- 
dha asked: "Is Brahma's mind full of malice, sloth, 
or pride?" M 

'No, sir! " was the reply. 23 

And Buddha went on : " But are the Brahmans free 
of these vices? " 24 

"No, sir ! " said Vasishtha. 25 

The Holy One said : "The Brahmans cling to the 
five things leading to worldliness and yield to the temp- 
tations of the senses ; they are entangled in the five hin- 
drances, lust, malice, sloth, pride, and doubt. How 
can they be united to that which is most unlike their 
nature? Therefore the threefold wisdom of the Brah- 
mans is a waterless desert, a pathless jungle, and a 
hopeless desolation." 26 

When Buddha had thus spoken, one of the Brah- 
mans said : "We are told, Gautama, that the Shakya- 
muni knows the path to a union with Brahma." 27 

And the Blessed One said : "What do you think, 
O Brahmans, of a man born and brought up in Mana- 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 121 

sakrita? Would he be in doubt about the directest way 
from this spot to Manasakrita? " 28 

" Certainly not, Gautama." 29 

"Thus," replied Buddha, "the Tathagata knows 
the straight path that leads to a union with Brahma. 
He knows it as one who has entered the world of 
Brahma and has been born in it. There can be no 
doubt in him." 30 

And the two young Brahmans said : "If you know 
the way show it to us. " 31 

And Buddha said : s2 

"The Tathagata sees the universe face to face and 
understands its nature. He proclaims the truth both 
in its letter and in its spirit, and his doctrine is lovely 
in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its con- 
summation. The Tathagata reveals the higher life in 
its purity and perfection. ^ 

" The Tathagata lets his mind pervade the four 
quarters of the world with thoughts of love. And thus 
the whole wide world, above, below, around, and every- 
where will continue to be filled with love, far-reaching, 
grown great, and beyond measure. 34 

"Just as a mighty trumpeter makes himself heard 
— and that without difficulty — in all the four quarters 
of the earth ; even so is the coming of the Tathagata: 
there is not one living creature that the Tathagata 
passes by or leaves aside, but regards them all with 
mind set free, and deep-felt love. 35 

"And this is the sign that a man follows the right 
path : Uprightness is his delight, and he sees danger 
in the least of those things which he should avoid. He 
trains himself in the commands of morality, he encom- 
passeth himself with holiness in word and deed ; he 
sustains life by means that are quite pure ; good is his 



122 tHE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

conduct, guarded is the door of his senses; mindful and 
self-possessed, he is altogether happy. 36 

"He who walks in the eightfold noble path with 
unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana. 
The Tathagata anxiously watches over his children and 
with loving care helps them to see the light. 37 

"When a hen has eight or ten or twelve eggs, over 
which she has properly brooded, the wish arises in her 
heart, « O would that my little chickens should break 
open the egg-shell with their claws, or with their beaks, 
and come forth into the light in safety!' yet all the 
while those little chickens are sure to break the egg- 
shell and will come forth into the light in safety. Even 
so, a brother who with firm determination walks in the 
noble path is sure to come forth into the light, sure to 
reach up to the higher wisdom, sure to attain to the 
highest bliss of enlightenment." ^ 

L. GUARD THE SIX QUARTERS. 

While the Blessed One was staying at the bamboo 
grove near Rajagriha, he once met on his way Srigala, 
a householder, who, clasping his hands, turned to the 
four quarters of the world, to the zenith above, and to 
the nadir below. And the Blessed One, knowing that 
this was done according to the traditional religious 
superstition to avert evil, asked Srigala: ''Why are 
you performing these strange ceremonies?" 1 

And Srigala in reply said : " Do you think it strange 
that I protect my home against the influences of de- 
mons? I know thou wouldst fain tell me, O Gautama 
Shakyamuni, whom people call the Tathagata and the 
Blessed Buddha, that incantations are of no avail and 
possess no saving power. But listen to me and know, 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 23 

that in performing this rite I honor, reverence, and 
keep sacred the words of my father." 2 

Then the Tathagata said : 3 

"You do well, O Srigala, to honor, reverence, and 
keep sacred the words of your father ; and it is your 
duty to protect your home, your wife, your children, 
and the children of your children against the hurtful 
influences of evil spirits. I find no fault with the per- 
formance of your father's rite. But I find that you do 
not understand the ceremony. Let the Tathagata, 
who is now speaking to you as a spiritual father and 
loves you not less than did your parents, explain to 
you the meaning of the six directions. 4 

" To guard your home by mysterious ceremonies is 
not sufficient ; you must guard it by good deeds. Turn 
to your parents in the East, to your teachers in the 
South, to your wife and children in the West, to your 
friends in the North, and regulate the zenith of your 
religious relations above you, and the nadir of your 
servants below you. 5 

" Such is the religion your father wants you to have, 
and the performance of the ceremony shall remind vou 
of your duties." 6 

And Srigala looked up to the Blessed One with 
reverence as to his father and said : "Truly, Gautama, 
thou art Buddha, the Blessed One, the holy teacher. 
I never knew what I was doing, but now I know. Thou 
hast revealed to me the truth that was hidden as one 
who brings a lamp into the darkness. I take my refuge 
in the Enlightened Teacher, in the truth that enlight- 
ens, and in the community of brethren who have found 
the truth." 7 



124 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



LI. SIMHA'S QUESTION CONCERNING ANNIHILATION. 

At that time many distinguished citizens were sit- 
ting together assembled in the town-hall and spoke in 
many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dharma, 
and of the Sangha. Simha, the general- in-chief, a 
disciple of the Nirgrantha sect, was sitting among 
them. And Simha thought : ''Truly, the Blessed One 
must be Buddha, the Holy One. I will go and visit 
him." 1 

Then Simha, the general, went to the place where 
the Nirgrantha chief, Jnyataputra, was ; and having 
approached him, he said: "I wish, Lord, to visit the 
shramana Gautama." 2 

Jnyataputra said : "Why should you, Simha, who 
believe in the result of actions according to their moral 
merit, go to visit the shramana Gautama, who denies 
the result of actions? The shramana Gautama, O 
Simha, denies the result of actions; he teaches the 
doctrine of non-action; and in this doctrine he trains 
his disciples." 3 

Then the desire to go and visit the Blessed One, 
which had arisen in Simha, the general, abated. 4 

Hearing again the praise of the Buddha, of the 
Dharma, and of the Sangha, Simha asked the Nirgran- 
tha chief a second time; and again Jnyataputra per- 
suaded him not to go. 5 

When a third time the general heard some men of 
distinction extol the merits of the Buddha, the Dharma, 
and the Sangha, the general thought : "Truly the shra- 
mana Gautama must be the Holy Buddha. What 
are the Nirgranthas to me, whether they give their con- 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. I 25 

sent or not? I shall go without asking their permission 
to visit him, the Blessed One, the Holy Buddha. " 6 

And Simha, the general, said to the Blessed One : 
"I have heard, Lord, that the shramana Gautama 
denies the result of actions ; he teaches the doctrine of 
non-action, saying that the actions of sentient beings 
do not receive their reward, for he teaches annihilation 
and the contemptibleness of all things; and in this 
doctrine he trains his disciples. Do you teach the do- 
ing away of the soul and the burning away of man's 
being? Pray tell me, Lord, do those who speak thus 
say the truth, or do they bear false witness against the 
Blessed One, passing off a spurious dharma as your 
dharma?" 7 

The Blessed One said : 8 

"There is a way, Simha, in which one who says 
so, is speaking truly of me ; on the other hand, Simha, 
there is a way in which one who says the opposite is 
speaking truly of me, too. Listen, and I will tell 
you : 9 

"I teach, Simha, the not-doing of such actions as 
are unrighteous, either by deed, or by word, or by 
thought ; I teach the not bringing about of all those 
conditions of heart which are evil and not good. How- 
ever, I teach, Simha, the doing of such actions as are 
righteous, by deed, by word, and by thought ; I teach 
the bringing about of all those conditions of heart 
which are good and not evil. 10 

' "I teach, Simha, that all the conditions of heart 
which are evil and not good, unrighteous actions by 
deed, by word, and by thought, must be burnt away. 
He who has freed himself, Simha, from all those con- 
ditions of heart which are evil and not good, he who 
has destroyed them as a palm-tree which is rooted out, 



126 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

so that they cannot grow up again, such a man has 
accomplished the eradication of self." u 

"I proclaim, Simha, the annihilation of egotism, 
of lust, of ill-will, of delusion. However, I do not 
proclaim the annihilation of forbearance, of love, of 
charity, and of truth. 12 

"I deem, Simha, unrighteous actions contempti- 
ble, whether they be performed by deed, or by word, 
or by thought ; but I deem virtue and righteousness 
praiseworthy. 13 

And Simha said: "One doubt still lurks in my 
mind concerning the doctrine of the Blessed One. Will 
the. Blessed One consent to clear the cloud away so 
tha^I may understand the dharma as the Blessed One 
J;eaches^it." 14 

The Tathagata having given his consent, Simha 
said **•"" I am a soldier, O Blessed One, and am ap- 
pointed by the king to enforce his laws and to wage 
his wars. Does the Tathagata who teaches kindness 
without end and compassion with all sufferers, permit 
the punishment of the criminal ? and further, does the 
Tathagata declare that it is wrong to go to war for the 
protection of our homes, our wives, our children, and 
our property ? Does the Tathagata teach the doctrine 
of a complete self-surrender, so that I should suffer 
the evil-doer to do what he pleases and yield submis- 
sively to him who threatens to take by violence what 
is my own? Does the Tathagata maintain that all 
strife, including such warfare as is waged for a righte- 
ous cause, should be forbidden?" 15 

Buddha replied : "The Tathagata says: He who 
deserves punishment must be punished, and he who is 
worthy of favor must be favored. Yet at the same time 
he teaches to do no injury to any living being but to be 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 127 

full of love and kindness. These injunctions are not 
contradictory, for whosoever must be punished for the 
crimes which he has committed, suffers his injury not 
through the ill-will of the judge but on account of his 
evil-doing. His own acts have brought upon him the 
injury that the executer of the law inflicts. When a 
magistrate punishes, let him not harbor hatred in his 
breast, yet a murderer, when put to death, should con- 
sider that this is the fruit of his own act. As soon as 
he will understand that the punishment will purify his 
soul, he will no longer lament his fate but rejoice at it. " 16 

And the Blessed One continued : " The Tathagata 
teaches that all warfare in which man tries to slay;;his 
brother is lamentable, but he does not teach that thfee 
who go to war in a righteous cause after having ex- 
hausted all means to preserve the peace are blame- 
worthy. He must be blamed who is the cause of war. 17 

"The Tathagata teaches a complete surrender of 
self, but he does not teach a surrender of anything to 
those powers that are evil, be they men or gods or the 
elements of nature. Struggle must be, for all life is a 
struggle of some kind. But he that struggles should 
look to it lest he struggle in the interest of self against 
truth and righteousness. 13 

"He who struggles in the interest of self, so that 
he himself may be great or powerful or rich or famous, 
will have no reward, but he who struggles for righte- 
ousness and truth, will have great reward, for even his 
defeat will be a victory. 19 

"Self is not a fit vessel to receive any great suc- 
cess ; self is small and brittle and its contents will soon 
be spilt for the benefit, and perhaps also for the curse, 
of others. 20 

"Truth, however, is large enough to receive the 



128 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

yearnings and aspirations of all selfs, and when the 
selfs break like soap-bubbles, their contents will be 
preserved and in the truth they will lead a life ever- 
lasting. 21 

" He who goeth to battle, O Simha, even though 
it be in a righteous cause, must be prepared to be slain 
by his enemies, for that is the destiny of warriors ; and 
should his fate overtake him he has no reason for com- 
plaint. 22 

" But he who is victorious should remember the in- 
stability of earthly things. His success may be great, 
but be it ever so great the wheel of life may turn again 
and bring him down into the dust. 23 

11 However, if he moderates himself and, extinguish- 
ing all hatred in his heart lifts his down-trodden ad- 
versary up and says to him, ' come now and make 
peace and let us be brothers,' he will gain a victory 
that is not a transient success, for its fruits will remain 
forever. 2i 

"Great is a successful general, O Simha, but he 
who has conquered self is the greater victor. 25 

" The doctrine of the conquest of self, O Simha, is 
not taught to destroy the souls of men, but to preserve 
them. He who has conquered self is more fit to live, 
to be successful, and to gain victories than he who is 
the slave of self. 26 

"He whose mind is free from the illusion of self, 
will stand and not fall in the battle of life. 27 

" He whose intentions are righteousness and jus- 
tice, will meet with no failure, but be successful in his 
enterprises and his success will endure. 28 

"He who harbors in his heart love of truth will 
live and not die, for he has drunk the water of immor- 
tality. » 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 120, 

" Struggle then, O general, courageously ; and fight 
your battles vigorously, but be a soldier of truth and 
the Tathagata will bless you. " 30 

When the Blessed One had spoken thus, Simha, 
the general, said: " Glorious Lord, glorious Lord! 
Thou hast revealed the truth. Great is the doctrine 
of the Blessed One. Thou, indeed, art the Buddha, 
the Tathagata, the Holy One. Thou art the teacher of 
mankind. Thou showest us the road of salvation, for 
this indeed is true deliverance. He who follows thee 
will not miss the light to enlighten his path. He will 
find blessedness and peace. I take my refuge, Lord, 
in the Blessed One, and in his doctrine, and in his 
brotherhood. May the Blessed One receive me from 
this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has 
taken refuge in him." 31 

And the Blessed One said : " Consider first, Simha, 
what you are doing. It is becoming that persons of 
rank like you do nothing without due consideration." 32 

Simha's faith in the Blessed One increased. He 
replied: "Had other teachers, Lord, succeeded in 
making me their disciple, they would carry around 
their banners through the whole city of Vaishali, shout- 
ing : ' Simha, the general has become our disciple ! 
For the second time, Lord, I take my refuge in the 
Blessed One, and in the Dharma, and in the Sangha ; 
may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth 
while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken his 
refuge in him." 33 

Said the Blessed One : "For a long time, Simha, 
offerings have been given to the Nirgranthas in your 
house. You should therefore deem it right also in the 
future to give them food when they come to you on 
their alms-pilgrimage." 34 



130 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

And Simha's heart was filled with joy. He said: 
"I have been told, Lord: * The shramana Gautama 
says : " To me alone and to nobody else gifts should 
be given. My pupils alone and the pupils of no one 
else should receive offerings."' But the Blessed One 
exhorts me to give also to the Nirgranthas. Well, 
Lord, we shall see what is seasonable. For the third 
time, Lord, I take my refuge in the Blessed One, and 
in his dharma, and in his fraternity." ffi 

LIL ALL EXISTENCE IS SPIRITUAL. 

And there was an officer among the retinue of Simha 
who had heard of the discourse between the Blessed 
One and the general, and there was some doubt left 
in his heart. 1 

This man came to the Blessed One and said : "It 
is said, O Lord, that the shramana Gautama denies 
the existence of the soul. Do they who say so speak 
the truth, or do they bear false witness against the 
Blessed One?" 2 

And the Blessed One said: "There is a way in 
which those who say so are speaking truly of me ; on 
the other hand, there is a way in which those who say 
so do not speak truly of me. 3 

"The Tathagata teaches that there is no self. He 
who says that the soul is his self and that the self is 
the thinker of our thoughts and the actor of our deeds, 
teaches a wrong doctrine which leads to confusion and 
darkness. 4 

"On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that 
there is mind. He who understands by soul mind, 
and says that mind exists, teaches the truth which 
leads to clearness and enlightenment." 5 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 131 

The officer said : "Does, then, the Tathagata main- 
tain that two things exist? that which we perceive with 
our senses and that which is mental? " 6 

Said the Blessed One: "Verily, I say unto you, 
your mind is mental, but that which you perceive with 
your senses is also mental. There is nothing within 
the world or without which either is not mind or can- 
not become mind. There is a spirituality in all exist- 
ence, and the very clay upon which we tread can be 
changed into children of truth." 7 

LIII. IDENTITY AND NON-IDENTITY. 

Kutadanta, the head of the Brahmans in the village 
of Danamati having approached the Blessed One re- 
spectfully, greeted him and said : "I am told, O shra- 
mana, that thou art Buddha, the Holy One, the All- 
knowing, the Lord of the world. But if thou wert 
Buddha, wouldst thou not come like a king in all thy 
glory and power ? " J 

Said the Blessed One : " Thy eyes are holden. If 
the eye of thy mind were undimmed thou couldst see 
the glory and the power of truth. " 2 

Said Kutadanta : "Show me the truth and I shall 
see it. But thy doctrine is without consistency. If it 
were consistent, it would stand ; but as it is not, it will 
pass away." 3 

The Blessed One replied: "The truth will never 
pass away." 4 

Kutadanta said : "I am told that thou teachest the 
law, yet thou tearest down religion. Thy disciples 
despise rites and abandon immolation, but reverence 
for the gods can be shown only by sacrifices. The very 
nature of religion consists in worship and sacrifice," 5 



132 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Said Buddha: "Greater than the immolation of 
bullocks is the sacrifice of self. He who offers to the 
gods his sinful desires will see the uselessness of slaugh- 
tering animals at the altar. Blood has no cleansing 
power, but the eradication of lust will make the heart 
pure. Better than worshipping gods is obedience to 
the laws of righteousness. " B 

Kutadanta being of a religious disposition, and anx- 
ious about the future of his soul, had sacrificed count- 
less victims. Now he saw the folly of atonement by 
blood. Not yet satisfied, however, with the teachings 
of the Tathagata, Kutadanta continued: "Thou be- 
lievest, O Master, that the soul is reborn ; that it mi- 
grates in the evolution of life ; and that subject to the 
law of karma we must reap what we sow. Yet teachest 
thou the non-existence of the soul ! Thy disciples praise 
utter self-extinction as the highest bliss of Nirvana. If 
I am merely a combination of the samskaras, my exist- 
ence will cease when I die. If I am merely a compound 
of sensations and ideas and desires, whither can I go at 
the dissolution of the body ? Where is the infinite 
bliss of which thy followers speak? It is an empty 
word and a self-delusion, for nothingness stares me in 
the face when I consider thy doctrines." 

Said the Blessed One : 8 

" O Brahman, thou art religious and earnest. Thou 
art seriously concerned about thy soul. Yet is thy 
work in vain because thou art lacking in the one thing 
that is needed. 9 

"Only through ignorance and delusion do men in- 
dulge in the dream that their souls are separate and 
self-existent entities. 10 

"Thy heart, O Brahman, is cleaving still to self; 
thou art anxious about heaven but thou seekest the 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 33 

pleasures of self in heaven, and thus thou canst not 
see the bliss of truth and the immortality of truth. n 

"Verily I say unto you: The Blessed One has not 
come to teach death, but to teach life, and thou dost 
not discern the nature of living and dying. 12 

"This body will be dissolved and no amount of 
sacrifice will save it. Therefore, seek thou the life that 
is of the mind. Where self is, truth cannot be ; yet 
when truth comes, self will disappear. Therefore, let 
thy mind rest in the truth ; propagate the truth, put 
thy whole soul in it, and let it spread. In the truth 
thou shalt live forever. 13 

"Self is death and truth is life. The cleaving to 
self is a perpetual dying, while moving in the truth is 
partaking of Nirvana which is life everlasting. " 14 

Kutadanta said: "Where, O venerable Master, is 

Nirvana?" 15 

'Nirvana is wherever the precepts are obeyed," 

replied the Blessed One. 16 

"Do I understand you right," rejoined the Brah- 
man, "that Nirvana is not a place and being nowhere 
it is without reality? " 17 

"You do not understand me right," said the Bles- 
sed One, "Now listen and answer these questions: 
Where does the wind dwell ? " 18 

"Nowhere," was the reply. 19 

Buddha retorted: "Then, sir, there is no such 
thing as wind." 20 

Kutadanta made no reply; and the Blessed One 
asked again : "Answer me, O Brahman, where does 
wisdom dwell? Is wisdom a locality?" 21 

"Wisdom has no allotted dwelling-place," replied 
Kutadanta. <n 

Said the Blessed One: "Do you mean to say that 



134 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

there is no wisdom, no enlightenment, no righteous- 
ness, and no salvation, because Nirvana is not a local- 
ity ? As a great and mighty wind which passeth over 
the world in the heat of the day, so the Tathagata 
comes to blow over the minds of mankind with the 
breath of his love, so cool, so sweet, so calm, so deli- 
cate ; and those tormented by fever assuage their suffer- 
ing and rejoice at the refreshing breeze." 23 

Said Kutadanta: "I feel, O Lord, that thou pro- 
claimest a great doctrine, but I cannot grasp it. For- 
bear with me that I ask again : Tell me, O Lord, if 
there be no atman, how can there be immortality? 
The activity of the mind passeth, and our thoughts are 
gone when we have done thinking." 24 

Buddha replied: "Our thinking is gone, but our 
thoughts continue. Reasoning ceases, but knowledge 
remains." 25 

Said Kutadanta : "How is that ? Is not reasoning 
and knowledge the same? " 26 

The Blessed One explained the distinction by an 
illustration : " It is as when a man wants, during the 
night, to send a letter, and, after having his clerk 
called, has a lamp lit, and gets the letter written. 
Then, when that has been done, he extinguishes the 
lamp. But though the lamp has been put out the 
writing is still there. Thus does reasoning cease and 
knowledge remain ; and in the same way mental activ- 
ity ceases, but experience, wisdom, and all the fruits of 
our acts endure." 27 

Kutadanta continued : "Tell me, O Lord, pray tell 
me, where, if the samskaras are dissolved, is the iden- 
tity of my self. If my thoughts are propagated, and 
if my soul migrates, my thoughts cease to be my 
thoughts and my soul ceases to be my soul. Give me 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 35 

an illustration, but pray, O Lord, tell me, where is the 
identity of my self?" 28 

Said the Blessed One: "Suppose a man were to 
light a lamp ; would it burn the night through?" 29 

"Yes, it might do so," was the reply. 30 

"Now, is it the same flame that burns in the first 
watch of the night as in the second? " 31 

Kutadanta hesitated. He thought "yes, it is the 
same flame," but fearing the complications of a hidden 
meaning, and trying to be exact, he said : "No, it is 
not." 32 

"Then," continued the Blessed One, "there are 
two flames, one in the first watch and the other in the 
second watch." w 

"No, sir," said Kutadanta. "In one sense it is not 
the same flame, but in another sense it is the same 
flame. It burns of the same kind of material, it emits 
the same kind of light, and it serves the same pur- 
pose." 34 

"Very well," said Buddha, "and would you call 
those flames the same that have burned yesterday and 
are burning now in the same lamp, filled with the same 
kind of oil, illuminating the same room ? " 35 

"They may have been extinguished during the 
day," suggested Kutadanta. 36 

Said the Blessed One : "Suppose the flame of the 
first watch had been extinguished during the second 
watch, would you call it the same if it burns again in 
the third v/atch ? " 37 

Replied Kutadanta : "In one sense it is a different 
flame, in another it is not." 38 

The Tathagata asked again : "Has the time that 
elapsed during the extinction of the flame anything to 
do with its identity or non-identity?" 39 



136 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"No, sir," said the Brahman, "it has not. There 
is a difference and an identity, whether many years 
elapsed or only one second, and also whether the lamp 
has been extinguished in the meantime or not." 40 

"Well, then, we agree that the flame of to-day is 
in a certain sense the same as the flame of yesterday, 
and in another sense it is different at every moment. 
Moreover, the flames of the same kind, illuminating 
with equal power the same kind of rooms, are in a cer- 
tain sense the same." 41 

"Yes, sir," replied Kutadanta. 42 

The Blessed One continued : " Now, suppose there 
is a man who feels like you, thinks like you, and acts 
like you, is he not the same man as you?" 43 

"No, sir," interrupted Kutadanta. 44 

Said Buddha: "Dost thou deny that the same 
logic holds good for thyself that holds good for the 
things of the world ? " 45 

Kutadanta bethought himself and rejoined slowly : 
"No. I do not. The same logic holds good univer- 
sally; but there is a peculiarity about my self which 
renders it altogether different from everything else and 
also from other selves. There may be another man 
who feels exactly like me, thinks like me, and acts like 
me; suppose even he had the same name and the 
same kind of possessions, he would not be myself." 46 

"True, Kutadanta, "answered Buddha, "he would 
not be thyself. Now, tell me, is the person who goes 
to school one, and that same person when he has fin- 
ished his schooling another ? Is it one who commits 
a crime, another who is punished by having his hands 
and feet cut off?" 47 

"They are the same," was the reply. 48 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 37 

"Then sameness is constituted by continuity only?" 
asked the Tathagata. 49 

"Not only by continuity," said Kutadanta, "but 
also and mainly by identity of character. " 50 

"Very well," concluded Buddha, "then you agree 
that persons can be the same, in the same sense as 
two flames of the same kind are called the same; and 
thou must recognise that in this sense another man of 
the same character and product of the same karma is 
the same as thou." 51 

'Well, I do," said the Brahman. 52 

Buddha continued : "And in this same sense alone 
art thou the same to-day as yesterday. Thy nature is 
not constituted by the matter of which thy body con- 
sists, but by the forms of the body, of the sensations, 
of the thoughts. Thy soul is the combination of the 
samskaras. Wherever they are, thou art. Whither- 
soever they go, thy soul goes. Thus thou wilt recog- 
nise in a certain sense an identity of thy self, and in 
another sense thou wilt not. But he who does not 
recognise the identity should deny all identity, and 
should say that the questioner is no longer the same 
person as he who a minute after receives the answer. 
Now consider the continuation of thy personality, which 
is preserved in thy karma. Dost thou call it death and 
annihilation, or life and continued life." 53 

" I call it life and continued life," rejoined Kuta- 
danta, " for it is the continuation of my existence, but 
I do not care for that kind of continuation. All I care 
for is the continuation of self in the other sense, which 
makes of every man, whether identical with me or not, 
an altogether different person." M 

" Very well," said Buddha. " This is what thou 
desirest and this is the cleaving to self. This is thy 



I38 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

error, and it implicates thee into unnecessary anxie- 
ties and wrong-doing, into grief and cares of all kind. 
He who cleaves to self must pass through the endless 
migrations of death, he is constantly dying. For the 
nature of self is a perpetual death." 55 

" How is that? " asked Kutadanta. 56 

" Where is thy self? " asked Buddha. And when 
Kutadanta made no reply, he continued: "Thy self 
to which thou cleavest is a constant change. Years 
ago thou wast a small babe; then, thou wast a boy; 
then a youth, and now, thou art a man. Is there any 
identity of the babe and the man ? There is an iden- 
tity in a certain sense only. Indeed there is more 
identity between the flames of the first and the third 
watch, even though the lamp might have been extin- 
guished during the second watch. Now which is the 
true self, that of yesterday, that of to-day, or that of 
to-morrow, for the preservation of which thou dost 
clamor?" 57 

Kutadanta was bewildered. " Lord of the world," 
he said, " I see my error, but I am confused still." 58 

The Tathagata continued : <c It is by a process of 
evolution that samskaras come to be. There is no 
samskara which has sprung into being without a grad- 
ual becoming. Thy samskaras are the product of thy 
deeds in former existences. The combination of thy 
samskaras is thy soul. Wheresoever they are impressed 
thither thy soul migrates. In thy samskaras thou wilt 
continue to live and thou wilt reap in future existences 
the harvest sown now and in the past. " 59 

" Verily, O Lord," rejoined Kutadanta, "■ this is no 
fair retribution. I cannot recognise the justice that 
others after me will reap what I am sowing now. " 60 

The Blessed One waited a moment and then re- 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 39 

plied : " Is all teaching in vain? Dost thou not un- 
derstand that those others are thou thyself? Thou thy- 
self wilt reap what thou sowest, not others. 61 

" Think of a man who is ill-bred and destitute, suf- 
fering from the wretchedness of his condition. As a 
boy he was slothful and indolent, and when he grew 
up he had not learned a craft to earn a living. Wouldst 
thou say, his misery is not the product of his own ac- 
tion, because the adult is no longer the same person as 
was the boy? 62 

" Verily, I say unto you : Not in the heavens, not 
in the midst of the sea, not if thou hidest thyself away 
in the clefts of the mountains, wilt thou find a place 
where thou canst escape the fruit of thy evil actions. 63 

"At the same time thou art sure to receive the 
blessings of thy good actions. 64 

"Him, who has been long travelling and who re- 
turns home in safety, the welcome of kinsfolk, friends, 
and acquaintances, awaits. So, the fruits of his good 
works bid welcome the man who has walked in the 
path of righteousness, when he passes over from the 
present life into the hereafter." 65 

Kiitadanta said : " I have faith in the glory and ex- 
cellency of thy doctrines. My eye cannot as yet en- 
dure the light ; but I now understand that there is no 
self, and the truth dawns upon me. Sacrifices cannot 
save, and invocations are idle talk. But how shall I 
find the path to life everlasting ? I know all the Vedas 
by heart and have not found the truth." 66 

Said Buddha : "Learning is a good thing ; but it 
availeth not. True wisdom can be acquired by prac- 
tice only. Practise the truth that thy brother is the 
same as thou. Walk in the noble path of righteous- 



I40 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

ness and thou wilt understand that while there is death 
in self, there is immortality in truth. " 67 

Said Kutadanta : "Let me take my refuge in the 
Blessed One, in the dharma, and in the brotherhood. 
Accept me as thy disciple and let me partake of the 
bliss of immortality. " 68 

LIV. BUDDHA, NOT GAUTAMA. 

And the Blessed One said : 1 

"Those only who do not believe, call me Gautama 
Siddhartha, but you call me Buddha, the Blessed One, 
and Teacher. And this is right, for I have even in 
this life entered Nirvana, and the life of Gautama Sid- 
dhartha has been extinguished. 2 

" Self has disappeared, and the truth has taken its 
abode in me. This body of mine is Gautama's body 
and it will be dissolved in due time, and after its dis- 
solution no one, neither God nor man, will see Gau- 
tama Siddhartha again. But Buddha will not die; 
Buddha will continue to live in the holy body of the 
law. 3 

"The extinction of the Blessed One will be by that 
passing away in which nothing remains that could tend 
to the formation of another self. Nor will it be pos- 
sible to point out the Blessed One as being here or 
there. But it will be like a flame in a great body of 
blazing fire. That flame has ceased ; it has vanished 
and it cannot be said that it is here or there. In the 
body of the dharma, however, the Blessed One can be 
pointed out ; for the dharma has been preached by the 
Blessed One. 4 

' Ye are my children, I am your father ; through 
me ye have been released from your sufferings. 6 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 141 

"I myself having reached the other shore, help 
others to cross the stream ; I myself having attained 
salvation, am a saviour of others ; being comforted, I 
comfort others and lead them to the place of refuge. 6 

"I shall fill with joy all the beings whose limbs 
languish ; I shall give happiness to those who are dy- 
ing from distress j I shall extend to them succor and 
deliverance. 7 

" 1 was born into the world as the king of truth for 
the salvation of the world. 8 

"The subject on which I meditate is truth. The 
practice to which I devote myself is truth. The topic 
of my conversation is truth. My thoughts are always 
in the truth. For lo ! my self has become the truth. 
I am the truth. 9 

"Whosoever comprehendeth the truth, he will see 
the Blessed One, for the truth has been preached by 
the Blessed One." l0 

LV. ONE ESSENCE, ONE LAW, ONE AIM. 

And the Tathagata addressed the venerable Ka- 
shyapa, to dispel the uncertainty and doubt of his 
mind, and he said : 1 

"All things are made of one essence, yet things are 
different according to the forms which they assume un- 
der different impressions. As they form themselves 
so they act, and as they act so they are. 2 

" It is, Kashyapa, as if a potter made different ves- 
sels out of the same clay. Some of these pots are to 
contain sugar, others rice, others curds and milk ; 
others still are vessels of impurity. There is no di- 
versity in the clay used ; the diversity of the pots is 
only due to the moulding hands of the potter who 



I42 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

shapes them for the various uses that circumstances 
may require. 3 

"And as all things originate from one essence, so 
they are developing according to one law and they are 
destined to one aim which is Nirvana. 4 

"Nirvana, comes to you, Kashyapa, if you thor- 
oughly understand, and if you live according to your 
understanding, that all things are of one essence and 
that there is but one law. Hence, there is but one 
Nirvana as there is but one truth, not two or three. 5 

"And the Tathagata is the same unto all beings, 
differing in his attitude only in so far as all beings are 
different. 6 

" The Tathagata recreates the whole world like a 
cloud shedding its waters without distinction. He has 
the same sentiments for the high as for the low, for 
the wise as for the ignorant, for the noble-minded as 
for the immoral. 7 

" The great cloud full of rain comes up in this wide 
universe covering all countries and oceans to pour down 
its rain everywhere, over all grasses, shrubs, herbs, 
trees of various species, families of plants of different 
names growing on the earth, on the hills, on the moun- 
tains, or in the valleys. 8 

"Then, Kashyapa, the grasses, shrubs, herbs, and 
wild trees suck the water emitted from that great cloud 
which is all of one essence and has been abundantly 
poured down ; and they will, according to their nature, 
acquire a proportionate development, shooting up and 
producing blossoms and fruits in their season. 9 

" Rooted in one and the same soil, all those fami- 
lies of plants and germs are quickened by water of the 
same essence. 10 

"The Tathagata, however, O Kashyapa, knows 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. I43 

the law whose essence is salvation, and whose end is 
the peace of Nirvana. He is the same to all, and yet 
knowing the requirements of every single being, he 
does not reveal himself to all alike. He does not im- 
part to them at once the fulness of omniscience, but 
pays attention to the disposition of various beings." n 



LVI. THE LESSON GIVEN TO RAHULA 

Before Rahula, the son of Gautama Siddhartha and 
Yashodhara, attained to the enlightenment of true wis- 
dom, his conduct was not always marked by a love of 
truth, and the Blessed One sent him to a distant 
vihara to govern his mind and to guard his tongue. 1 

After some time the Blessed One repaired to the 
place, and Rahula was filled with joy. 2 

And the Blessed One ordered the boy to bring him 
a basin with water and wash his feet, and Rahula 
obeyed. 3 

When Rahula had washed the Tathagata's feet, the 
Blessed One asked : "Is the water now fit for drink- 
ing?" 4 

"No, my Lord," replied the boy, "the water is 
defiled." 5 

Then the Blessed One said : "Now consider your 
own case. Although you are my son, and the grand- 
child of a king, although you are a shramana who has 
voluntarily given up everything, you are unable to 
guard your tongue from untruth, and thus defile your 
mind." 6 

And when the water had been poured away, the 
Blessed One asked again : "Is this vessel now fit for 
holding water to drink?" 7 



144 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"No, my Lord," replied Rahula, " the vessel, too, 
has become unclean." 8 

And the Blessed One said : "Now consider your 
own case. Although you wear the yellow robe, are 
you fit for any high purpose when you have become 
unclean like this vessel? " 9 

Then the Blessed One, lifting up the empty basin 
and whirling it round, asked : "Are you not afraid 
lest it should fall and break ? " 10 

"No, my Lord," replied Rahula, "the vessel is 
but cheap, and its loss will not amount to much." u 

"Now consider your own case," said the Blessed 
One. "You are whirled about in endless eddies of 
transmigration, and your body being made of the same 
substance as other material things that will crumble to 
dust, there is no loss if it be broken. He who is given 
to speaking untruths is an object of contempt to the 
wise." 12 

Rahula was filled with shame, and the Blessed One 
addressed him once more: "Listen, and I will tell 
you a parable : 13 

"There was a king who had a very powerful ele- 
phant, able to cope with five hundred ordinary ele- 
phants. When going to war, the elephant was armed 
with sharp swords on his tusks, with scythes on his 
shoulders, spears on his feet, and an iron ball at his 
tail. The elephant-master rejoiced to see the noble 
creature so well equipped, and, knowing that a slight 
wound by an arrow in the trunk would be fatal, he had 
taught the elephant to keep his trunk well coiled up. 
But during the battle the elephant stretched forth his 
trunk to seize a sword. 14 

"His master was frightened and consulted with 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 145 

the king, and they decided that the elephant was no 
longer fit to be used in battle. 15 

" O Rahula ! if men would only guard their tongues 
all would be well ! Be like the fighting elephant who 
guards his trunk against the arrow that strikes in the 
middle. 16 

< ' By love of truth the sincere escape iniquity. 
Like the elephant well subdued and quiet, who per- 
mits the king to mount on his trunk, thus the man that 
reveres righteousness will endure faithfully throughout 
his life." 17 

Rahula hearing these words was filled with deep 
sorrow ; he never again gave any occasion for com- 
plaint, and forthwith he sanctified his life by earnest 
exertions. 18 

LVII. THE SERMON ON ABUSE. 

And the Blessed One observed the ways of society 
and noticed how much misery came from malignity and 
foolish offences done only to gratify vanity and self- 
seeking pride. l 

And Buddha said : "If a man foolishly does me 
wrong, I will return to him the protection of my un- 
grudging love ; the more evil comes from him, the 
more good shall go from me : the fragrance of good- 
ness always comes to me, and the harmful air of evil 
goes to him." 2 

A foolish man learning that Buddha observed the 
principle of great love which commends to return good 
for evil, came and abused him. Buddha was silent, 
pitying his folly. 3 

The man having finished his abuse, Buddha asked 
him, saying: "Son, if a man declined to accept a 
present made to him, to whom would it belong? " And 



I46 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

he answered : "In that case it would belong to the 
man who offered it." 4 

"My son," said Buddha, "you have railed at me, 
but I decline to accept your abuse, and request you to 
keep it yourself. Will it not be a source of misery to 
you? As the echo belongs to the sound, and the 
shadow to the substance, so misery will overtake the 
evil-doer without fail." 5 

The abuser made no reply, and Buddha contin- 
ued : 6 

"A wicked man who reproaches a virtuous one is 
like one who looks up and spits at heaven ; the spittle 
soils not the heaven, but comes back and denies his 
own person. 7 

"The slanderer is like one who flings dust at another 
when the wind is contrary; the dust does but return on 
him who threw it. The virtuous man cannot be hurt, 
and the misery that the other would inflict comes back 
on himself." 8 

The abuser went away ashamed, but he came again 
and took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the 
Sangha. 9 

LVIII. BUDDHA REPLIES TO THE DEVA. 

On a certain day when the Blessed One dwelt at 
Jetavana, the garden of Anathapindika, a celestial deva 
came to him in the shape of a Brahman whose coun- 
tenance was bright and whose garments were white 
like snow. The deva asked questions which the Bles- 
sed One answered. 1 

The deva said: "What is the sharpest sword? 
What is the deadliest poison? What is the fiercest 
fire? What is the darkest night ? " 2 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 147 

The Blessed One replied : "A word spoken in wrath 
is the sharpest sword ; covetousness is the deadliest 
poison ; passion is the fiercest fire ; ignorance is the 
darkest night." 3 

The deva said : "Who gains the greatest benefit? 
Who loses most? Which armor is invulnerable ? What 
is the best weapon ? " 4 

The Blessed One replied: "He is the greatest 
gainer who gives to others, and he loses most who re- 
ceives from others without giving a compensation. 
Patience is an invulnerable armor ; wisdom is the best 
weapon." 5 

The deva said : ' ' Who is the most dangerous thief ? 
What is the most precious treasure? Who is most suc- 
cessful in taking away by violence not only on earth, 
but also in heaven ? " 6 

The Blessed One replied : ' ' Evil thought is the most 
dangerous thief ; virtue is the most precious treasure. 
Immortality is most successful in taking away by vio- 
lence not only on earth but also in heaven. " 7 

The deva said : "What is attractive? What is dis- 
gusting? What is the most horrible pain? What is 
the greatest enjoyment?" 8 

The Blessed One replied: "Good is attractive; 
evil is disgusting. A bad conscience is the most tor- 
menting of all pains ; deliverance is the height of 
bliss." 9 

The deva asked : "What causes ruin in the world? 
What breaks off friendships ? What is the most vio- 
lent fever? Who is the best physician ? " 10 

The Blessed One replied : "Ignorance causes the 
ruin of the world. Envy and selfishness break off friend- 
ships. Hatred is the most violent fever, and Buddha 
is the best physician." u 



140 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

The deva then asked and said : "Now I have only 
one doubt to be solved ; pray, clear it away : What is 
it fire can neither burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind 
crush down, but is able to reform the whole world? " n 

The Blessed One replied : " Blessing ! The bless- 
ing of a good deed is secure from the attack of a ma- 
lignant man who desires to take it away. " 13 

The deva, having heard the words of the Blessed 
One, was full of exceeding joy. Clasping his hands, he 
bowed down before him in reverence, and disappeared 
suddenly from the presence of Buddha. u 

LIX. WORDS OF INSTRUCTION. 

Thus I have heard. The bhikshus came to the 
Blessed One, and having saluted him with clasped 
hands they said : 1 

"O Master, thou all-seeing, we all wish to learn ; 
our ears are ready to hear, thou art our teacher, thou 
art incomparable. Cut off our doubt, inform us of the 
blessed dharma, O thou of great understanding ; speak 
in the midst of us, O thou who art all-seeing, as is the 
thousand- eyed Lord of the gods. 2 

"We will ask the muni of great understanding, 
who has crossed the stream, gone to the other shore, 
is blessed and of a firm mind : How does a bhikshu 
wander rightly in the world, after having gone out 
from his house and driven away desire? " 3 

Buddha said : 4 

"Let the bhikshu subdue his passion for human 
and celestial pleasures, then, having conquered exis- 
tence, he will command the dharma. Such a one will 
wander rightly in the world. 5 

" He whose lusts have been destroyed, who is free 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 49 

from pride, who has overcome all the ways of passion, 
is subdued, perfectly happy,and of a firm mind. Such 
a one will wander rightly in the world. 6 

"Faithful is he who is possessed of knowledge, 
seeing the way that leads to Nirvana, he who is no 
partisan, he who is pure and victorious, and has re- 
moved the veil from his eyes. Such a one will wander 
rightly in the world." 7 

Said the bhikshus : "Certainly, O Bhagavat, it is 
so : whichever bhikshu lives in this way, subdued and 
having overcome all bonds, such a one will wander 
rightly in the world." 8 

The Blessed One said : 9 

"Whatever is to be done by him who aspires to 
attain the tranquillity of Nirvana let him be able and 
upright, conscientious and gentle, and not proud. 10 

"Let no one deceive another, let no one despise 
another, let no one out of anger or resentment wish to 
harm another. n 

"Happy is the solitude of the peaceful who know 
and behold the truth. Happy is he who stands firm by 
holding himself in check alway. Happy is he whose 
every sorrow, whose every desire is at an end. The 
conquest of the stubborn vanity of self is truly supreme 
happiness. u 

" Let a man's pleasure be the dharma, let him de- 
light in the dharma, let him stand fast in the dharma, 
let him know how to inquire into the dharma, let him 
not raise any dispute that pollutes the dharma, and let 
him spend his time in pondering on the well-spoken 
truths of the dharma. 13 

"A treasure that is laid up in a deep pit profits 
nothing and may easily be lost. The real treasure 
that is laid up through charity and piety, temperance, 



I50 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

self-control, or deeds of merit, is hid secure and can- 
not pass away. It is never gained by despoiling or 
wronging others, and no thief can steal it. A man, 
when he dies, must leave the fleeting wealth of the 
world, but this treasure of virtuous acts he takes with 
him. Let the wise do good deeds ; they are a treasure 
that can never be lost. " 14 

And the bhikshus praised the wisdom of the Tatha- 
gata : 15 

1 'Thou hast past beyond pain; thou art holy, O 
Enlightened One, we consider thee one that has de- 
stroyed his passions. Thou art glorious, thoughtful, 
and of great understanding. O thou who puts an end 
to pain, thou hast carried us across our doubt. 16 

"Because thou sawest our longing and carriedest us 
across our doubt, adoration be to thee, O muni, who 
hast attained the highest gain in the ways of wisdom. 17 

"The doubt we had before, thou hast cleared away, 
O thou clearly-seeing ; surely thou art a muni, perfectly 
enlightened, there is no obstacle for thee. 18 

"And all thy troubles are scattered and cut off ; 
thou art calm, subdued, firm, truthful. 19 

"Adoration be to thee, O noble muni, adoration be 
to thee, O thou best of beings ; in the world of men and 
gods there is none equal to thee. 20 

"Thou art Buddha, thou art the Master, thou art 
the muni that conquers Mara ; after having cut off de- 
sire thou hast crossed over and earnest this generation 
to the other shore. ' ' 21 

LX. AMITABHA. 

One of the disciples came to the Blessed One with 
a trembling heart and his mind full of doubt. And he 
asked the Blessed One: "O Buddha, our Lord and 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 151 

Master, why do we give up the pleasures of the world, 
if you forbid us to work miracles and to attain the su- 
pernatural ? Is not Amitabha, the infinite light of reve- 
lation, the source of innumerable miracles ? " * 

And the Blessed One, seeing the anxiety of a truth- 
seeking mind, said : "O shravaka, thou art a novice 
among the novices, and thou art swimming on the sur- 
face of samsara. How long will it take thee to grasp 
the truth ? Thou hast not understood the words of the 
Tathagata. The law of karma is irrefragable, and sup- 
plications have no effect, for they are empty words." 2 

Said the disciple : "So you say there are no mir- 
aculous and wonderful things? " 3 

And the Blessed One replied : 4 

"Is it not a wonderful thing, mysterious and mi- 
raculous to the worldling, that a sinner can become a 
saint, that he who attains to true enlightenment will 
find the path of truth and abandon the evil ways of 
selfishness ? 5 

( ' The bhikshu who renounces the transient pleas- 
ures of the world for the eternal bliss of holiness, per- 
forms the only miracle that can truly be called a mir- 
acle. 6 

1 'A holy man changes the curses of karma into bless- 
ings. The desire to perform miracles arises either 
from covetousness or from vanity. 7 

" That mendicant does right who does not think : 
'People should salute me'; who, though despised by 
the world, yet cherishes no ill-will towards it. 8 

"That mendicant does right to whom omens, me- 
teors, dreams, and signs are things abolished; he is 
free from all their evils. 9 

"Amitabha, the unbounded light, is the source of 
the spiritual existence of Buddhahood. The deeds of 



152 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

sorcerers and miracle-mongers are frauds, but what is 
more wondrous, more mysterious, more miraculous 
than Amitabha ? " 10 

"But, Master," continued the shravaka, "is the 
promise of the happy region vain talk and a myth?" u 

" What is this promise ? " asked Buddha ; and the 
disciple replied : 12 

' ' There is in the West a paradisian country called 
the Pure Land, exquisitely adorned with gold and sil- 
ver and precious gems. There are pure waters with 
golden sands, surrounded by pleasant walks and cov- 
ered with large lotus flowers. Joyous music is heard, 
and flowers rain down three times a day. There are 
singing birds whose harmonious notes proclaim the 
praises of religion, and in the minds of those who lis- 
ten to their sweet sounds, remembrance arises of the 
Buddha, the law, and the brotherhood. No evil birth 
is possible there, and even the name of hell is unknown. 
He who fervently and with a pious mind repeats the 
words 'Amitabha Buddha ' will be transported to the 
happy region of this pure land, and when death draws 
nigh, Buddha, with a company of saintly followers, 
will stand before him, and there will be perfect tran- 
quillity." 13 

"In truth," said Buddha, "there is such a happy 
paradise. But the country is spiritual and it is acces- 
sible only to those that are spiritual. You say, It lies 
in the West. This means, look for it where he who 
enlightens the world resides. The sun sinks down and 
leaves us in utter darkness, the shades of night steal 
over us, and Mara, the evil one, buries our bodies in 
the grave. Sunset is nevertheless no extinction, and 
where we imagine we see extinction there is boundless 
light and inexhaustible life." 14 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 153 

" Your description," Buddha continued, "is beau- 
tiful ; yet it is insufficient and does little justice to the 
glory of the pure land. The worldly can speak of it in 
a worldly way only, they use worldly similes and worldly 
words. But the pure land in which the pure live is 
more beautiful than you can say or imagine. 15 

"However, the repetition of the name Amitabha 
Buddha is meritorious only if you speak it with such a 
devout attitude of mind as will cleanse your heart and 
attune your will to do works of righteousness. He 
only can reach the happy land whose soul is filled with 
the infinite light of truth. He only can live and breathe 
in the spiritual atmosphere of the western paradise 
who has attained enlightenment. 16 

"Verily I say unto you, the Tathagata lives in the 
pure land of eternal bliss even now while he is still in 
the body ; and the Tathagata preaches the law of reli- 
gion unto you and unto the whole world, so that you 
and your brethren may attain the same peace and the 
same happiness. " 17 

Said the disciple : "Teach me, O Lord, the medi- 
tations to which I must devote myself in order to let 
my mind enter into the paradise of the pure land." 1S 

Buddha said : " There are five meditations. 19 

"The first meditation is the meditation of love in 
which you must so adjust your heart that you long for 
the weal and welfare of all beings, including the happi- 
ness of your enemies. 20 

"The second meditation is the meditation of pity, 
in which you think of all beings in distress, vividly 
representing in your imagination their sorrows and 
anxieties so as to arouse a deep compassion for them 
in your soul. 21 

"The third meditation is the meditation of joy in 



154 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

/ 

which you think of the prosperity of others and rejoice A > 




with their rejoicings. 22 J 

"The fourth meditation is the meditation on im- 1 j 
purity, in which you consider the evil consequences of 
corruption, the effects of sin and diseases. How trivial 



often the pleasure of the moment and how fatal its 
consequences ! 23 < 



C ■-. ~ 




tJ 



" The fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, i v ^~ 
in which you rise above love and hate, tyranny an d/!r»T7 
oppression, wealth and want, and regard your own fata K 
with impartial calmness and perfect tranquillity. 24 

"A true follower of the Tathagata does not found 
his trust upon austerities or rituals but giving up the t 
idea of self relies with his whole heart upon Amitabha, 
which is the unbounded light of truth." 25 

The Blessed One after having explained his doc- 
trine of Amitabha, the immeasurable light which makes 
him who receives it a Buddha, looked into the heart 
of his disciple and saw still some doubts and anxieties. 
And the Blessed One said : " Ask me, my son, the 
questions which weigh upon your soul." 26 

And the disciple said : "Can a humble monk, by 
sanctifying himself, acquire the talents of supernatural 
wisdom called abhijnya and the supernatural powers 
called riddhi? Show me the riddhi-pada, the path to 
the highest wisdom ? Open to me the dhyanas which 
are the means of acquiring samadhi, the fixity of mind 
which enraptures the soul." 27 

And the Blessed One said : "Which are the abhij- 
nyas?" 28 

The disciple replied: "There are six abhijnyas : 
(i) The celestial eye ; (2) the celestial ear ; (3) the 
body at will or the power of transformation ; (4) the 
knowledge of the destiny of former dwellings, so as to 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 155 

know former states of existence ; (5) the faculty of 
reading the thoughts of others ; and (6) the knowledge 
of comprehending the finality of the stream of life." ^ 

And the Blessed One replied: "These are won- 
drous things ; but verily, every man can attain them. 
Consider the abilities of your own mind, you were born 
about two hundred leagues from here and can you not, 
in your thought, in an instant travel to your native 
place and remember the details of your father's home? 
Do you not see with your mind's eye the roots of the 
tree which is shaken by the wind without being over- 
thrown ? Does not the collector of herbs see in his 
mental vision, whenever he pleases, any plant with its 
roots, its stem, its fruits, its leaves, and even the uses 
to which it can be applied ? Cannot the man who un- 
derstands languages recall to his mind any word when- 
ever he pleases, knowing its exact meaning and im- 
port? How much more does the Tathagata understand 
the nature of all things ; he looks into the hearts of men 
and reads their thoughts. He knows the evolution of 
beings in their wearisome transmigrations and foresees 
their ends." 30 

Said the disciple : "Which are the dhyanas through 
which we must pass to reach abhijnya? " 31 

And Buddha replied: "There are four dhyanas. 
The first dhyana is seclusion in which you must free 
your mind from sensuality ; the second dhyana is a 
tranquillity of mind full of joy and gladness ; the third 
dhyana is a taking delight in things spiritual; the 
fourth dhyana is a state of perfect purity and peace in 
which the mind is above all gladness and grief." 32 

Said the disciple: "Forbear with me, O Blessed 
One, for I have faith without understanding and I am 
seeking the truth. Teach me, O Blessed One, O Ta- 



156 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

thagata, my Lord and Master, teach me the riddhi- 
pada." 33 

And the Blessed One said : " There are four means 
by which riddhi is acquired ; (1) Prevent bad quali- 
ties from arising. (2) Put away baci qualities which 
have arisen. (3) Produce goodness that does not as 
yet exist. And (4) increase the goodness that does 
exist. M 

"Search with sincerity, and persevere in your 
search. In the end you will find the truth." 35 

LXI. THE TEACHER UNKNOWN. 

And the Blessed One said to Ananda : 1 

" There are various kinds of assemblies, O Ananda ; 
assemblies of nobles, of Brahmans, of householders, 
of bhikshus, and of other beings. When I used to enter 
into an assembly, I always became, before I seated 
myself, in color like unto the color of my audience, 
and in voice like unto their voice. Then with religious 
discourse, I instructed, quickened, and gladdened 
them. 2 

"My doctrine is like the ocean, having the same 
eight wonderful qualities. 3 

"Both the ocean and my doctrine become gradu- 
ally deeper. Both preserve their identity under all 
changes. Both cast out dead bodies upon the dry 
land. As the great rivers, when falling into the main, 
lose their names and are thenceforth reckoned as the 
great ocean, so all the castes, having renounced their 
lineage and entered the Sangha, become brethren and 
are reckoned the sons of Shakyamuni. The ocean is 
the goal of all streams and of the rain from the clouds, 
yet is it never overflowing and never emptied : so the 



BUDDHA, THE TEACHER. 1 57 

dharma is embraced by many millions of people, yet 
it neither increases nor decreases. As the great ocean 
has only one taste, the taste of salt, so my doctrine 
has only one flavor, the flavor of emancipation. Both 
the ocean and the dharma are full of gems and pearls 
and jewels, and both afford a dwelling-place for mighty 
beings. 4 

"These are the eight wonderful qualities in which 
my doctrine resembles the ocean. 5 

" My doctrine is pure and it makes no discrimina- 
tion between noble and ignoble, rich and poor. 6 

" My doctrine is like unto water which cleanses all 
without distinction. 7 

"My doctrine is like unto fire which consumes all 
things that exist between heaven and earth, great and 
small. 8 

" My doctrine is like unto the heavens, for there is 
room in it, ample room for the reception of all, for men 
and women, boys and girls, the powerful and the 
lowly. 9 

"But when I spoke, they knew me not and would 
say, 'Who may this be who thus speaks, a man or a 
god?' Then having instructed, quickened, and glad- 
dened them with religious discourse, I would vanish 
away. But they knew me not, even when I vanished 
away." w 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 



LXII. PARABLES. 

AND the Blessed One thought : "I have taught the 
^ truth which is excellent in the beginning, excel- 
lent in the middle, and excellent in the end ; it is glori- 
ous in its spirit and glorious in its letter. But simple as 
it is, the people cannot understand it. I must speak to 
them in their own language, I must adapt my thoughts 
to their thoughts. They are like unto children, and 
love to hear tales. Therefore, I will tell them stories 
to explain the glory of the dharma. If they cannot 
grasp the truth in the abstract arguments by which I 
have reached it, they may nevertheless come to under- 
stand it, if it is illustrated in parables." 1 

LXIII. THE BURNING MANSION. 

There was a wealthy householder who possessed a 
large but old mansion ; its rafters were worm-eaten, its 
pillars rotten, its roof dry and combustible. And it 
happened on one day that there was a smell of fire. 
The householder ran out doors and saw the thatch all 
ablaze. He was horror-struck, for he loved his chil- 
dren dearly, and knew that, ignorant of the danger, 
they were romping about in the burning mansion. 1 

The distracted father thought to himself, "What 
shall I do? The children are ignorant, and it will be 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 59 

useless to warn them of the danger. If I run in to 
catch them and carry them out in my arms, they will 
run away, and while I might save one of them, the 
others would perish in the flames, " Suddenly an idea 
came to him. " My children love toys," he thought ; 
"if I promise them playthings of wonderful beauty, 
they will listen to me." 2 

Then he shouted aloud : " Children, come out and 
see the exquisite feast your father has prepared for 
you. Here are toys for you finer than you have ever 
seen. Come quickly, before it is too late ! " 3 

And lo ! from the blazing ruins the children came 
out in full haste. The word " toys " had caught their 
minds. Then the fond father in his joy bought them 
the most precious playthings, and, when they saw the 
destruction of the house, they understood the good in- 
tention of their father, and praised the wisdom which 
had saved their lives. 4 

The Tathagata knows that the children of the world 
love the tinsel of worldly pleasures \ he describes the 
bliss of righteousness, thus endeavoring to save their 
souls from perdition, and he will give them the spiritual 
treasures of truth. 5 

LXIV. THE MAN BORN BLIND. 

There was a man born blind and he said : " I do 
not believe in the world of light and appearance. There 
are no colors, bright or sombre. There is no sun, no 
moon, no stars. No one has witnessed these things." 1 

His friends remonstrated with him, but he clung to 
his opinion: "What you say that you see," he ob- 
jected, "are illusions. If colors existed I should be 
able to touch them. They have no substance and are 
unreal." 2 



l6o THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

In those days there was a physician who was called 
to see the blind man, and he mixed four simples and 
cured him of his disease. 3 

The Tathagata is the physician, and the four sim- 
ples are the four noble truths. 4 

LXV. THE LOST SON. 

There was a householder's son who went away into 
a distant country, and while the father accumulated 
immeasurable riches, the son became miserably poor. 
And the son while searching for food and clothing hap- 
pened to come to the country in which his father lived. 
And the father saw him in his wretchedness, for he 
was ragged and brutalised by poverty, and ordered 
some of his servants to call him. * 

When the son saw the palace to which he was con- 
ducted, he thought, "I must have evoked the suspi- 
cion of a powerful man, and he will throw me into 
prison." Full of apprehension he made his escape 
before he had seen his father. 2 

Then the father sent messengers out after his son, 
and he was caught and brought back in spite of his 
cries and lamentations. And his father ordered the 
servants to deal tenderly with his son, and he appointed 
a laborer of his son's rank and education to employ the 
lad as a helpmate on the estate. And the son was 
pleased with his new situation. 3 

From the window of his palace the father watched 
his boy, and when he saw that he was honest and in- 
dustrious, he promoted him higher and higher. 4 

After many years, he summoned his son and called 
together all his servants, and made the secret known 
to them. Then the poor man was exceedingly glad 
and he was full of joy at meeting his father. 5 



PARABLES AND STORIES. l6l 

Little by little must the minds of men be trained 
for higher truths. 6 

LXVI. THE GIDDY FISH. 

There was a bhikshu who had great difficulty in 
keeping his senses and passions under control ; so, re- 
solving to leave the order, he came to the Blessed One 
to ask him for a release from the vows. And the 
Blessed One said to the bhikshu : 1 

"Take heed, my son, lest you fall a prey to the 
passions of your misguided heart. For I see that in 
former existences, you have suffered much from the 
evil consequences of lust, and unless you learn to con- 
quer your sensual desires, you will in this life be ruined 
through your folly. 2 

" Listen to a story of another existence of yours, as 
a fish. 3 

" The fish could be seen swimming lustily in the 
river, playing with his mate. She, moving in front, 
suddenly perceived the meshes of a net, and slipping 
around escaped the danger; but he, blinded by love, 
shot eagerly after her and fell straight into the mouth 
of the net. The fisherman pulled the net up, and the 
fish, who complained bitterly of his sad fate, saying, 
1 this indeed is the bitter fruit of my folly, ' would surely 
have died if Bodhisattva had not chanced to come by, 
and, understanding the language of the fish, took pity 
on him. He bought the poor creature and said to him : 
1 My good fish, had I not caught sight of you this day, 
you would have lost your life. I shall save you, but 
henceforth sin no more. , With these words he threw 
the fish into the water. 4 

" Make the best of the time of grace that is offered 
you in your present existence, and fear the dart of lust 



1 62 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

which, if you guard not your senses, will lead you into 
destruction. " 5 

LXVII. THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 

A tailor who used to make robes for the brother- 
hood was wont to cheat his customers, and thus prided 
himself on being smarter than other men. But once, 
on entering upon an important business transaction 
with a stranger, he found his master in fraudulent prac- 
tices, and suffered a heavy loss. x 

And the Blessed One said : This is no isolated in- 
cident in the greedy tailor's fate ; in other incarnations 
he suffered similar losses, and by trying to dupe others 
ultimately ruined himself. 2 

This same greedy character lived many generations 
ago as a crane near a pond, and when the dry season 
set in he said to the fish with a bland voice : "Are you 
not anxious for your future welfare? There is at pres- 
ent very little water and still less food in this pond. 
What will you do should in this drought the whole 
pond become dry?" 3 

' ' Yes, indeed, " said the fish, ' ' what should we do ? " 4 

Replied the crane: "I know a fine, large lake, 
which never becomes dry. Would you not like to be 
carried to that place in my beak?" When the fish be- 
gan to distrust the honesty of the crane, he proposed 
to have one of them sent over to the lake to see it ; 
and one of them, a big carp, at last decided to take 
the risk for the sake of the others, and the crane car- 
ried him to a beautiful lake and brought him back in 
safety. Then all doubt vanished, and the fish gained 
confidence in the crane, and now the crane took the 
fish one by one out of the pond and devoured them on 
a big varana-tree. 5 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 163 

There was also a lobster in the pond, and when it 
listed the crane to eat him too, he said to him : "I 
have taken all the fish away and put them in a fine, 
large lake. Come along. I shall take you, too!" 6 

" But how will you take hold of me to carry me 
along?" asked the lobster. 7 

"I shall bite hold of you with my beak," said the 
crane. 8 

" You will let me fall if you carry me like that. I 
will not go with you ! " replied the lobster. 

"You need not fear," rejoined the crane ; " I shall 
hold you quite tight all the way." 10 

Then said the lobster to himself : "If this crane 
once gets hold of a fish, he will certainly never let him 
go in a lake ! Now if he should really put me into the 
lake it would be splendid ; but if he does not, then I 
will cut his throat and kill him ! " So he said to him : 
"Look here, friend, you will not be able to hold me 
tight enough ; but we lobsters have a famous grip. If 
you let me catch hold of you round the neck with my 
claws, I shall be glad to go with you." u 

And the crane did not see that the lobster was trying 
to outwit him, and agreed. So the lobster caught hold 
of his neck with his claws as securely as with a pair of 
blacksmith's pincers, and called out: " Off with you 
now ! " 12 

The crane took him and showed him the lake, and 
then turned off toward the varana-tree. "My dear 
uncle! " cried the lobster, "the lake lies that way, but 
you are taking me this way." 13 

Answered the crane : "Do you think so? Am I 
your dear uncle ? You mean me to understand, I sup- 
pose, that I am your slave, who has to lift you up and 
carry you about with him, where you please ! Now 



164 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

cast your eye upon that heap of fish-bones at the root 
of yonder varana-tree. Just as I have eaten those fish, 
every one of them, just so I will devour you as well ! " Li 

"Ah! those fishes got eaten through their own stu- 
pidity," answered the lobster, "but I am not going to 
let you kill me. On the contrary, it is you that I am 
going to destroy. For you, in your folly, have not 
seen that I have outwitted you. If we die, we both 
die together ; for I will cut off this head of yours and 
cast it to the ground ! " And so saying, he gave the 
crane's neck a grip with his claws as with a vise. 15 

Then gasping, and with tears trickling from his 
eyes, and trembling with the fear of death, the crane 
beseeched him, saying : " O, my Lord ! Indeed I did 
not intend to eat you. Grant me my life!" 16 

"Very well ! fly down and put me into the lake," 
replied the lobster. 17 

And the crane turned round and stepped down into 
the lake, to place the lobster on the mud at its edge. 
But the lobster cut the crane's neck through as clean 
as one would cut a lotus-stalk with a hunting-knife, 
and then entered the water! 18 

When the Teacher had finished this discourse, he 
added : "Not now only was this man outwitted in this 
life, but in other existences, too, he was outwitted, in 
the same way." 19 

LXVIII. FOUR KINDS OF MERIT. 

There was a rich man who used to invite all the 
Brahmans of the neighborhood to his house, and, giv- 
ing them rich gifts, offer great sacrifices to the gods. A 

And the Blessed One said : " If a man each month 
repeat a thousand sacrifices and give offerings without 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 165 

ceasing, he is not equal to him who but for a moment 
fixes his mind upon righteousness. " 2 

The world-honored Buddha continued: "There 
are four kinds of offering : first, when the gifts are 
large and the merit small; secondly,, when the gifts 
are small and the merit large ; thirdly, when the gifts 
are large and the merit large ; and fourthly, when the 
gifts are small and the merit is also small. 3 

"The first is the case of the deluded man who 
takes away life for the purpose of sacrificing to the 
gods, accompanied by carousing and feasting. Here 
the gifts are great, but the merit is small indeed. 4 

"The gifts are small and the merit is also small, 
when from covetousness and an evil heart a man keeps 
to himself a part of that which he intends to offer. 5 

"The merit is great, however, while the gift is 
small, when a man makes his offering from love and 
with a desire to grow in wisdom and in kindness. G 

"Lastly, the gift is large and the merit is large, 
when a wealthy man, in an unselfish spirit and with 
the wisdom of a Buddha, gives donations and founds 
institutions for the best of mankind to enlighten the 
minds of his fellow-men and to administer unto their 
needs." 7 

LXIX. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

There was a certain Brahman in Kaushambi, a 
wrangler and well versed in the Vedas. As he found 
no one whom he regarded his equal in debate he used 
to carry a lighted torch in his hand, and when asked 
for the reason of his strange conduct, he replied : 
"The world is so dark that I carry this torch to light 
it up, as far as I can." 1 

A shramana sitting in the market-place heard these 



1 66 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Words and said : " My friend, if your eyes are blind to 
the sight of the omnipresent light of the day, do not call 
the world dark. Your torch adds nothing to the glory 
of the sun and your good intention to illumine the 
minds of others is as futile as it is arrogant." 

On this the Brahman asked: " Where is the sun 
of which thou speakest? " And the shramana replied : 
"The wisdom of the Tathagata is the sun of the soul. 
His radiancy is glorious by day and night, and he 
whose faith is strong will not lack light on the path to 
Nirvana where he will inherit bliss everlasting." 3 

LXX. LUXURIOUS LIVING. 

While Buddha was preaching his doctrine for the 
conversion of the world in the neighborhood of Shra- 
vasti, a man of great wealth who suffered from many 
ailments came to him with clasped hands and said : 
"World-honored Buddha, pardon me for my want of 
respect in not saluting you as I ought to, but I suffer 
greatly from obesity, excessiveness, drowsiness, and 
other complaints, so that I cannot move without pain. }>1 

The Tathagata, seeing the luxuries with which the 
man was surrounded asked him : " Have you a desire 
to know the cause of your ailments? " And when the 
wealthy man expressed his willingness to learn, the 
Blessed One said : "There are five things which pro- 
duce the condition of which you complain : opulent din- 
ners, love of sleep, hankering after pleasure, thought- 
lessness, and lack of occupation. Exercise self-control 
at your meals, and take upon yourself some duties that 
will exercise your abilities and make you useful to your 
fellow-men. In following this advice you will prolong 
your life." 2 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 167 

The rich man remembered the words of Buddha 
and after some time having recovered his lightness of 
body and youthful buoyancy returned to the World- 
honored One and, coming afoot without horses and 
attendants, said to him : " Master you have cured my 
bodily ailments ; I come now to seek enlightenment 
of my soul." 3 

And the Blessed One said : " The worldling nour- 
ishes his body, but the wise man nourishes his soul. 
He who indulges in the satisfaction of his appetites 
works his own destruction ; but he who walks in the 
path will have both the salvation of his soul and pro- 
longation of life." 4 

LXXI. THE COMMUNICATION OF BLISS. 

Annabhara, the slave of Sumana, having just cut 
the grass on the meadow, saw a shramana with his 
bowl begging for food. And throwing down his bundle 
of grass he ran into the house and returned with the 
rice that had been provided for his own food. * 

The shramana ate the rice and gladdened him with 
words of religious comfort. 2 

The daughter of Sumana having observed the scene 
from a window called out : " Good ! Annabhara, good! 
Very good ! " 3 

Sumana hearing these words inquired what she 
meant, and on being informed about Annabhara's de- 
votion and the words of comfort he had received from 
the shramana, went to his slave and offered him money 
to divide the bliss of his offering. 4 

' 'My Lord," said Annabhara, "let me first ask the 
venerable man." And approaching the shramana, he 
said: "My master has asked me to share with him 



l68 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

the bliss of the offering I made you of my allowance 
of rice. Is it right that I should divide it with him?" 5 

The shramana replied in a parable. He said : " In 
a village of one hundred houses a single light was burn- 
ing. Then a neighbor came with his lamp and lit it ; 
and in this same way the light was communicated from 
house to house and the brightness in the village was 
increased. Thus the light of religion may be diffused 
without stinting him who communicates it. Let the 
bliss of thy offering also be diffused. Divide it." 6 

Annabhara returned to his master's house and said 
to him : " I present you, my Lord, with a share of the 
bliss of my offering. Deign to accept it." 7 

Sumana accepted it and offered his slave a sum of 
money, but Annabhara replied : "Not so, my Lord ; 
if I accept your money it would appear as if I sold you 
my share. Bliss cannot be sold ; please accept it as a 
gift." 8 

The master replied: "Brother Annabhara, from 
this day forth thou shalt be free. Live with me as my 
friend and accept this present as a token of my re- 
spect. " 9 

LXXII. THE LISTLESS FOOL. 

There was a rich Brahman, well advanced in years, 
who, unmindful of the impermanence of earthly things 
and anticipating a long life, had built himself a large 
house. 1 

Buddha sent Ananda to the rich Brahman to inquire 
for the reasons why he had built a mansion with so 
many apartments and to preach to him the four noble 
truths and the eightfold path of salvation. 2 

The Brahman showed Ananda his house and ex- 
plained to him the purpose of its numerous chambers, 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 169 

but to the instruction of Buddha's teachings he did not 
listen. 3 

Ananda said : ff It is the habit of fools to say, 'I 
have children and wealth. ' He who says so is not even 
master of himself; how can he claim possession of 
children, riches, and servants? Many are the anxieties 
of the worldly, but they know nothing of the changes 
of the future. " 4 

Scarcely had Ananda left, when the old man was 
struck by apoplexy and fell dead. And Buddha said, 
for the instruction of those who were ready to learn : 
"A fool, though he live in the company of the wise, 
understands nothing of the true doctrine, as a spoon 
tastes not the flavor of the soup. He thinks of him- 
self only, and unmindful of the advice of good coun- 
sellors is unable to deliver himself." 6 

LXXIII. RESCUE IN THE DESERT. 

There was a disciple of the Blessed One, full of 
energy and zeal for the truth, who, living under a vow 
to complete a meditation in solitude, nagged in a mo- 
ment of weakness; and he said to himself: "The 
Teacher said there are several kinds of men ; I must 
belong to the lowest class and fear that in this birth 
there will be neither path nor fruit for me. What is 
the use of a forest life if I cannot by my constant en- 
deavor attain the insight of meditation to which I have 
devoted myself?" And he left the solitude and re- 
turned to the Jetavana. * 

When the brethren saw him they said to him : 
"You have done wrong, O brother, after taking a vow, 
to give up the attempt of carrying it out ; " and they 
took him to the Master. 2 



170 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

When the Blessed One saw them he said : "I see, 
O mendicants, that you have brought this brother here 
against his will. What has he done?'' 3 

"Lord, this brother, having taken the vows of so 
sanctifying a faith, has abandoned the endeavor to 
accomplish the aim of a member of the order, and has 
comeback tous." 4 

Then the Teacher said to him : "Is it true that 
you have given up trying? " 5 

"It is true, O Blessed One! " was the reply. 6 

The Master said : "This present life of yours is a 
time of grace. If you now fail to reach the happy 
state you will have to suffer remorse in future exis- 
tences. How is it, brother, that you have proved 
yourself so irresolute ! Why, in former states of exis- 
tence you were full of determination. By your energy 
alone the men and bullocks of five hundred waggons 
obtained water in the sandy desert, and were saved. 
How is it that you give up trying now? " 7 

By these few words that brother was re-established 
in his resolution! But the others besought the Blessed 
One, saying : "Lord ! Tell us how this was." 8 

"Listen, then, O mendicants!" said the Blessed 
One ; and having thus excited their attention, he made 
manifest a thing concealed by the change of birth. 9 

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reign- 
ing in Kashi, Bodhisattva was born in a merchant's 
family; and when he grew up, he went about traffick- 
ing with five hundred carts. 10 

One day he arrived at a sandy desert many leagues 
across. The sand in that desert was so fine that when 
taken in the closed fist it could not be kept in the 
hand. After the sun had risen it became as hot as a 
mass of burning charcoal, so that no man could walk 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 171 

on it. Those, therefore, who had to travel over it 
took wood, and water, and oil, and rice in their carts, 
and travelled during the night. And at daybreak they 
formed an encampment and spread an awning over it, 
and, taking their meals early, they passed the day sit- 
ting in the shade. At sunset they supped, and when 
the ground had become cool they yoked their oxen and 
went on. The travelling was like a voyage over the 
sea : a desert-pilot had to be chosen, and he brought 
the caravan safe to the other side by his knowledge of 
the stars. u 

On this occasion the merchant of our story tra- 
versed the desert in that way. And when he had 
passed over fifty-nine leagues he thought, "Now, in 
one more night we shall get out of the sand," and after 
supper he directed the waggons to be yoked, and so set 
out. The pilot had cushions arranged on the foremost 
cart, and lay down, looking at the stars, and directing 
them where to drive. But worn out by want of rest 
during the long march, he fell asleep, and did not per- 
ceive that the oxen had turned round and taken the 
same road by which they had come. 12 

The oxen went on the whole night through. To- 
wards the dawn the pilot woke up, and, observing the 
stars, called out : " Stop the waggons, stop the wag- 
gons! " The day broke just as they stopped and were 
drawing up the carts in a line. Then the men cried 
out : "Why this is the very encampment we left yes- 
terday! Our wood and water is all gone! We are lost!" 
And unyoking the oxen and spreading the canopy over 
their heads, they lay down in despondency, each one 
under his waggon. But Bodhisattva, saying to him- 
self, "If I lose heart, all these will perish," walked 
about while the morning was yet cool. And on seeing 



172 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

a tuft of kusa-grass, he thought: "This could have 
grown only by soaking up some water which must be 
beneath it." 13 

And he made them bring a spade and dig in that 
spot. And they dug sixty cubits deep. And when they 
had got thus far, the spade of the diggers struck on a 
rock ; and as soon as it struck, they all gave up in de- 
spair. But Bodhisattva thought, "There must be water 
under that rock/' and, descending into the well, he got 
upon the stone, and, stooping down, applied his ear 
to it, and tested the sound of it. And he heard the 
sound of water gurgling beneath. And he got out and 
called his page. "My lad, if you give up now, we 
shall all be lost. Do not you lose heart. Take this iron 
hammer, and go down into the pit, and give the rock 
a good blow." 14 

The lad obeyed, and though they all stood by in 
despair, he went down full of determination, and struck 
at the stone. And the rock split in two, and fell be- 
low, and no longer blocked up the stream. And water 
rose till its brim was the height of a palm-tree in the 
well. And they all drank of the water, and bathed in 
it. Then they cooked rice and ate it, and fed their 
oxen with it. And when the sun set, they put a flag 
in the well, and went to the place appointed. There 
they sold their merchandise at a good profit and re- 
turned to their home, and when they died they passed 
away according to their deeds. And Bodhisattva gave 
gifts and did other virtuous acts, and he also passed 
away according to his deeds. 15 

After the Teacher had told the story he formed the 
connexion by saying in conclusion, "The caravan- 
leader was Bodhisattva, the future Buddha ; the page 
who at that time despaired not, but broke the stone, 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 73 

and gave water to the multitude, was this brother with- 
out perseverance ; and the other men were the atten- 
dants on the Buddha." 16 

LXXIV. BUDDHA, THE SOWER. 

Bharadvaja, a wealthy Brahman, was celebrating 
his harvest-thanksgiving when the Blessed One came 
with his alms-bowl, begging for food. 1 

Some of the people paid him reverence, but the 
Brahman was angry and said : "O shramana, it would 
suit you better to go to work than to go begging. I 
plough and sow, and having ploughed and sown, I eat. 
If you did likewise, you, too, would have to eat." 2 

And the Tathagata answered him and said : "O 
Brahman, I, too, plough and sow, and having ploughed 
and sown, I eat." 3 

"Do you profess to be a husbandman? " replied the 
Brahman. ''Where, then, are your bullocks? Where 
is the seed and the plough? " 4 

The Blessed One said : " Faith is the seed I sow : 
good works are the rain that fertilises it ; wisdom and 
modesty are the plough ; my mind is the guiding- 
rein ; I lay hold of the handle of the law ; earnestness 
is the goad I use ; and exertion is my draught-ox. 
This ploughing is ploughed to destroy the weeds of 
illusion. The harvest it yields is the immortal life of 
Nirvana, and thus all sorrow ends." fi 

Then the Brahman poured rice-milk into a golden 
bowl and offered it to the Blessed One, saying : "Let 
the Teacher of mankind partake of the rice-milk, for 
the venerable Gautama ploughs a ploughing that bears 
the fruit of immortality." 6 



174 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



LXXV. THE OUTCAST. 

When Bhagavat dwelt at Shravasti in the Jetavana, 
he went out with his alms-bowl to beg for food and 
approached the house of a Brahman priest while the 
fire of an offering was blazing upon the altar. And 
the priest said : " Stay there, O shaveling ; stay there, 
O wretched shramana ; thou art an outcast. " * 

The Blessed One replied : " Who is an outcast? 2 

"An outcast is the man who is angry and bears ha- 
tred ; the man who is wicked and hypocritical, he who 
embraces error and is full of deceit. 3 

"Whosoever is a provoker and is avaricious, has 
sinful desires, is envious, wicked, shameless, and with- 
out fear to commit sins, let him be known as an out- 
cast. 4 

" Not by birth does one become an outcast, not by 
birth does one become a Brahman ; by deeds one be- 
comes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Brahman." 5 

LXXVI. THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. 

Ananda, the favorite disciple of Buddha, having 
been sent by the Lord on a mission, passed by a well 
near a village, and seeing Prakriti, a girl of the Ma- 
tanga caste, he asked her for water to drink. x 

Prakriti said, < ' O Brahman, I am too humble and 
mean to give you water to drink, do not ask any ser- 
vice of me lest your holiness be contaminated, for I 
am of low caste." 2 

And Ananda replied : "I ask not for caste but for 
water ;" and the Matanga girl's heart leaped joyfully 
and she gave Ananda to drink. 3 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 75 

Ananda thanked her and went away ; but she fol- 
lowed him at a distance. 4 

Having heard that Ananda was a disciple of Gau- 
tama Shakyamuni, the girl repaired to the Blessed One 
and cried : " O Lord help me, and let me live in the 
place where Ananda thy disciple dwells, so that I may 
see him and minister unto him, for I love Ananda." 5 

And the Blessed One understood the emotions of 
her heart and he said : " Prakriti, thy heart is full of 
love, but you do not understand your own sentiments. 
It is not Ananda whom you love, but his kindness. 
Receive, then, the kindness you have seen him prac- 
tise unto you, and in the humility of your station prac- 
tise it unto others. 6 

"Verily there is great merit in the generosity of a 
king when he is kind to a slave ; but there is a greater 
merit in the slave when ignoring the wrongs which he 
suffers he cherishes kindness and good-will to all man- 
kind. He will cease to hate his oppressors, and even 
when powerless to resist their usurpation will with 
compassion pity their arrogance and supercilious de- 
meanor. 7 

"Blessed art thou, Prakriti, for though you are a 
Matanga you will be a model for noblemen and noble- 
women. You are of low caste, but Brahmans will learn 
a lesson from you. Swerve not from the path of jus- 
tice and righteousness and you will outshine the royal 
glory of queens on the throne." 8 

LXXVII. THE PEACEMAKER. 

It is reported that two kingdoms were on the verge 
of war, the possession of a certain embankment being 
disputed by them. 1 



176 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

And Buddha seeing the kings with their armies 
ready to fight, requested them to tell him the cause of 
their quarrels. Having heard the complaints on both 
sides, he said : 2 

"I understand that the embankment has value for 
some of your people, has it any intrinsic value aside 
from its service to your men?" 

"It has no intrinsic value whatever," was the re- 
ply. The Tathagata continued : " Now when you go 
to battle is it not sure that many of your men will be 
slain and you yourselves, O kings, are liable to lose 
your lives ? " 4 

And they said : ' < Verily, it is sure that many will 
be slain and our own lives be jeopardised." 5 

"The blood of men, however," said Buddha, "has 
it less intrinsic value than a mound of earth? " 6 

"No," the kings said, "the lives of men and 
above all the lives of kings, are priceless." 7 

Then the Tathagata concluded : "Are you going to 
stake that which is priceless against that which has no 
intrinsic value whatever? " 8 

The wrath of the two monarchs abated, and they 
came to a peaceable agreement. 9 

LXXVIII. THE HUNGRY DOG. 

There was a great king who oppressed his people 
and was hated by his subjects ; yet when the Tathagata 
came into his kingdom, the king desired much to see 
him ; so he went to the place where the Blessed One 
stayed and asked: "O Shakyamuni, can you teach a 
lesson to the king that will divert his mind and benefit 
him at the same time ? " 1 

And the Blessed One said: "I shall tell you the 
parable of the hungry dog : 2 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 177 

" There was a wicked tyrant ; and the god Indra, 
assuming the shape of a hunter, came down upon 
earth with the demon Matali, the latter appearing as 
a dog of enormous size. Hunter and dog entered the 
palace, and the dog howled so wofully that the royal 
buildings shook by the sound to their very foundations. 
The tyrant had the awe-inspiring hunter brought be- 
fore his throne and inquired after the cause of the ter- 
rible bark. The hunter said, "The dog is hungry," 
whereupon the frightened king ordered food for him. 
All the food prepared at the royal banquet disappeared 
rapidly in the dog's jaws, and still he howled with 
portentous significance. More food was sent for, and 
all the royal store-houses were emptied, but in vain. 
Then the tyrant grew desperate and asked : ' Will 
nothing satisfy the cravings of that woful beast?' 
' Nothing/ replied the hunter, l nothing except per- 
haps the flesh of all his enemies.' 'And who are his 
enemies?' anxiously asked the tyrant. The hunter 
replied : ' The dog will howl as long as there are peo- 
ple hungry in the kingdom, and his enemies are those 
who practise injustice and oppress the poor.' The 
oppressor of the people, remembering his evil deeds, 
was seized with remorse, and for the first time in his 
life he began to listen to the teachings of righteous- 
ness." 3 

Having ended his story, the Blessed One addressed 
the king, who had turned pale, and said to him : 4 

"The Tathagata can quicken the spiritual ears of 
the powerful, and when thou, great king, nearest the 
dog bark, think of the teachings of Buddha, and you 
may still learn to pacify the monster." 5 



I78 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



LXXIX. THE DESPOT. 

Brahmadatta raja happened to see a beautiful wo- 
man, the wife of a merchant, and, conceiving a passion 
for her, ordered a precious jewel secretly to be dropped 
into the merchant's carriage. The jewel was missed, 
searched for, and found. The merchant was arrested 
on the charge of stealing, and the king pretended to 
listen with great attention to the defence, and with 
seeming regret ordered the merchant to be executed, 
while his wife was consigned to the royal harem. * 

Brahmadatta decided to attend the execution in 
person, for such sights used to give him pleasure, but 
when the doomed man looked with deep compassion 
at his infamous judge, a flash of Buddha's wisdom lit 
up the king's passion-beclouded mind ; and while the 
executioner raised the sword for the fatal stroke, Brah- 
madatta felt the merchant's soul enter into his own 
being, and he imagined he saw himself on the block. 2 

"Hold, executioner!" shouted Brahmadatta, "it is 
the king whom you slay ! " 3 

Too late ! The executioner had done the bloody 
deed. 4 

The king fell back in a swoon, and when he awoke 
a change had come over him. He had ceased to be 
the cruel despot and henceforth led a life of holiness 
and rectitude. 8 

O ye that commit murders and robberies! The veil 
of Maya is upon your eyes. If you could see things as 
they are, not as they appear, you would no longer in- 
flict injuries and pain on your own souls. You do not 
see that you will have to atone for your evil deeds, for 
what you sow that you will reap. 6 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 79 



LXXX. VASAVADATTA. 

There was a courtesan in Mathura named Vasava- 
datta. She happened to see Upagupta, one of Bud- 
dha's disciples, a tall and beautiful youth, and fell 
desperately in love with him. Vasavadatta sent an 
invitation to the young man, but he replied: "The 
time has not yet arrived when Upagupta will visit Va- 
savadatta. " 1 

The courtesan was astonished at the reply, and she 
sent again for him, saying : "Vasavadatta desires love, 
not gold, from Upagupta." But Upagupta made the 
same enigmatic reply and did not come. 2 

A few months later Vasavadatta had a love-intrigue 
with the chief of the artisans, and at that time a wealthy 
merchant came to Mathura, who fell in love with Vasa- 
vadatta. Seeing his wealth, and fearing the jealousy of 
her other lover, she contrived the death of the chief of 
the artisans, and concealed his body under a dunghill. 3 

When the chief of the artisans had disappeared, his 
relatives and friends searched for him and found his 
body. Vasavadatta, however, was tried by a judge, 
and condemned to have her ears and nose, her hands 
and feet cut off, and flung into a graveyard. 4 

Vasavadatta had been a passionate girl, but kind 
to her servants, and one of her maids followed her, and 
out of love for her former mistress ministered unto her 
in her agonies, and chased away the crows. 5 

Now the time had arrived when Upagupta decided 
to visit Vasavadatta. 6 

When he came, the poor woman ordered her maid 
to collect and hide under a cloth her severed limbs ; 
and he greeted her kindly, but she said with petu- 



l8o THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

lance: "Once this body was fragrant like the lotus, 
and I offered you my love. In those days I was cov- 
ered with pearls and fine muslin. Now I am mangled 
by the executioner and covered with filth and blood." 7 

"Sister," said the young man, "it is not for my 
pleasure that I approach you. It is to restore to you 
a nobler beauty than the charms which you have lost. 8 

"I have seen with mine eyes the Tathagata walk- 
ing upon earth and teaching men his wonderful doc- 
trine. But you would not have listened to the words 
of righteousness while surrounded with temptations, 
while under the spell of passion and yearning for 
worldly pleasures. You would not have listened to 
the teachings of the Tathagata, for your heart was 
wayward, and you set your trust on the sham of your 
transient charms. 9 

"The charms of a lovely form are treacherous, and 
quickly lead into temptations, which have proved too 
strong for you. But there is a beauty which will not 
fade, and if you but listen to the doctrine of our Lord, 
the Buddha, you will find that peace which you never 
would have found in the restless world of sinful pleas- 
ures." 10 

Vasavadatta became calm and a spiritual happiness 
soothed the tortures of her bodily pain ; for where 
there is much suffering there is also great bliss. u 

Having taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, 
and the Sangha, she died in pious submission to the 
punishment of her crime. n 

LXXXI. THE MARRIAGE-FEAST IN JAMBUNADA. 

There was a man in Jambunada who was to be 
married the next day, and he thought, "Might Bud- 
dha, the Blessed One, be present at the wedding." 1 



PARABLES AND STORIES. l8l 

And the Blessed One passed by his house and met 
him, and when he read the silent wish in the heart of 
the bridegroom, he consented to enter. 2 

When the Holy One appeared with the retinue of 
his many bhikshus, the host, whose means were lim- 
ited, received them as best he could, saying: "Eat, 
my Lord, and all your congregation, according to your 
desire. " 3 

While the holy men ate, the meats and drinks re- 
mained undiminished, and the host thought to him- 
self : "How wondrous is this. I should have had 
plenty for all my relatives and friends. Would that 
I had invited them all." 4 

When this thought was in the host's mind, all his 
relatives and friends entered the house ; and although 
the hall in the house was small there was room in it 
for all of them. They sat down at the table and ate, 
and there was more than enough for all of them. 5 

The Blessed One was pleased to see so many guests 
full of good cheer and he quickened them and glad- 
dened them with words of truth, proclaiming the bliss 
of righteousness : 6 

" The greatest happiness which a mortal man can 
imagine is the bond of marriage that ties together two 
loving hearts. But there is a greater happiness still : 
it is the embrace of truth. Death will separate husband 
and wife, but death will never separate him who has 
espoused the truth. 7 

"Therefore be married unto the truth and live 
with the truth in holy wedlock. The husband who 
loves his wife and desires for a union that shall be 
everlasting must be faithful to her so as to be like truth 
itself, and she will rely upon him and revere him and 
minister unto him. And the wife who loves her hus- 



1 82 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

band and desires for a union that shall be everlasting 
must be faithful to him so as to be like truth itself ; 
and he will place his trust in her, he will honor her, 
he will provide for her. Verily, I say unto you, their 
wedlock will be holiness and bliss, and their children 
will become like unto their parents and will bear wit- 
ness to their happiness. 8 

"Let no man be single, let every one be wedded in 
holy love to the truth. And when Mara, the destroyer, 
comes to separate the visible forms of your being, you 
will continue to live in the truth, and you will partake 
of the life everlasting, for the truth is immortal." 9 

There was no one among the guests but was 
strengthened in his spiritual life, and recognised the 
sweetness of a life of righteousness ; and they took 
refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. 10 

LXXXII. A PARTY IN SEARCH FOR A THIEF. 

Having sent out his disciples, the Blessed One him- 
self wandered from place to place until he reached 
Uruvilva. 1 

On his way he sat down in a grove to rest, and it 
happened that in that same grove there was a party of 
thirty friends who were enjoying themselves with their 
wives ; and while they were sporting, some of their 
goods were stolen. 2 

Then the whole party went in search of the thief 
and, meeting the Blessed One sitting under a tree, 
saluted him and said : " Pray, Lord, did you see the 
thief pass by with our goods? " 3 

And the Blessed One said : "Which is better for 
you, that you go in search for the thief or for your- 
selves? " And the youths cried : "In search for our- 
selves ! " 4 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 83 

"Well, then," said the Blessed One, "sit down 
and I will preach you the truth." 6 

And the whole party sat down and they listened 
eagerly to the words of the Blessed One. Having 
grasped the truth, they praised the doctrine and took 
refuge in the Buddha. 6 



LXXXIII. IN THE REALM OF YAMARAJA. 

There was a Brahman, a religious man and fond in 
his affections but without deep wisdom ; he had a very 
promising son of great skill, who, when seven years 
old, was struck with a fatal disease and died. The 
unfortunate father was unable to control himself ; he 
threw himself upon the corpse and lay there as one 
dead. * 

The relatives came and buried the dead child and 
when the father came to himself, he was so immoderate 
in his grief that he behaved like an insane person. He 
no longer gave way to tears but wandered about ask- 
ing for the residence of Yamaraja, the king of death, 
to beg of him humbly that his child might be allowed 
to return alive. 2 

Having arrived at a great Brahman temple the sad 
father went through certain religious rites and fell 
asleep. While wandering on in his dream he came to 
a deep mountain pass where he met a number of shra- 
manas who had acquired supreme wisdom. " Kind 
sirs," he said, "can you not tell me where the resi- 
dence of Yamaraja is ? " And they asked him, " Good 
friend, why do you want to know? " Whereupon he 
told them his sad story and explained his intentions. 
Pitying his self-delusion, the shramanas said : " No 
mortal man can reach the place where Yama reigns, 



184 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

but some four hundred miles westward lies a great city 
in which many good spirits live ; every eighth day of 
the month Yama visits the place, and there you may 
see him who is the king of death and ask him for a 
boon." 8 

The Brahman rejoicing at the news went to the city 
and found it as the shramanas had told him. And he 
was admitted to the dread presence of Yama, the King 
of Death, who, on hearing his request, said: "Your 
son lives now in the eastern garden disporting himself; 
go there and ask him to follow you.' , 4 

Said the happy father : ' ' How does it happen that 
my son, without having performed one good work, is 
now living in paradise?" Yamaraja replied: "He 
has obtained celestial happiness not for performing 
good deeds, but because he died in faith and love to 
the Lord and Master, the most glorious Buddha. Bud- 
dha says : ' The heart of love and faith spreads as it 
were a beneficent shade from the world of men to the 
world of gods.' This glorious utterance is like the 
stamp of a king's seal upon a royal edict." 5 

The happy father hastened to the place and saw 
his beloved child playing with other children, all trans- 
figured by the peace of the blissful existence of a heav- 
enly life. He ran up to his boy and cried with tears 
running down his cheeks : " My son, my son, do you 
not remember me, your father who watched over you 
with loving care and tended you in your sickness? 
Return home with me to the land of the living." But 
the boy, while struggling to go back to his playmates, 
upbraided him for using such strange expressions as 
father and son. "In my present state," he said, "I 
know no such words, for I am free from delusion." 6 

On this, the Brahman departed, and when he woke 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 85 

from his dream he bethought himself of the Blessed 
Master of mankind, the great Buddha, and resolved to 
go to him, lay bare his grief, and seek consolation. 7 

Having arrived at the Jetavana, the Brahman told 
his story and how his boy had refused to recognise him 
and to go home with him. 8 

And the World-honored One said : " Truly you are 
self-deluded. When man dies the body is dissolved 
into its elements, but the spirit is not entombed. It 
leads a higher mode of life in which all the relative 
terms of father, son, wife, mother, are at an end, just 
as a guest who leaves his lodging has done with it, as 
though it were a thing of the past. Men concern 
themselves most about that which passes away; but 
the end of life quickly comes as a burning torrent 
sweeping away the transient in a moment. They are 
like a blind man set to look after a burning lamp. A 
wise man, understanding the transiency of worldly re- 
lations, destroys the cause of grief, and escapes from 
the seething whirlpool of sorrow. Religious wisdom 
lifts a man above the pleasures and pains of the world 
and gives him peace everlasting." 9 

The Brahman asked the permission of the Blessed 
One to enter into the community of his bhikshus, so as 
to acquire that heavenly wisdom which alone can give 
comfort to an afflicted heart. 10 



LXXXIV. THE MUSTARD SEED. 

There was a rich man who found his gold suddenly 
transformed into charcoal ; and he took to his bed and 
refused all food. A friend, hearing of his sickness, 
visited the rich man and heard the cause of his grief. 
And the friend said : " You made no good use of your 



1 86 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

wealth. When you hoarded it up, it was not better 
than charcoal. Now hear my advice. Spread mats in 
the bazaar ; pile up this charcoal, and pretend to trade 
with it." 1 

The rich man did as his friend had told him, and 
when his neighbors asked him, "Why do you sell 
charcoal? " he said : " I offer my goods for sale." 

After some time a young girl named Krisha Gau- 
tami, an orphan and very poor, passed by, and seeing 
the rich man in the bazaar, said : "My lord, why do 
you thus pile up gold and silver for sale. " 3 

And the rich man said : "Will you please hand me 
that gold and silver ? " And Krisha Gautami took up 
a handful of charcoal, and lo! it changed back into 
gold. 4 

Considering that Krisha Gautami had the mental 
eye of spiritual knowledge and saw the real worth of 
things, the rich man gave her in marriage to his son, 
and he said: "With many, gold is no better than 
charcoal, but with Krisha Gautami charcoal becomes 
pure gold." 5 

And Krisha Gautami had an only son, and he died. 
In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neigh- 
bors, asking them for medicine, and the people said : 
" She has lost her senses. The boy is dead." 6 

At length Krisha Gautami met a man who replied 
to her request : "I cannot give you medicine for your 
child, but I know a physician who can." 7 

And the girl said : "Pray tell me, sir ; who is it?" 
And the man replied : "Go to Shakyamuni, the Bud- 
dha." 8 

Krisha Gautami repaired to Buddha and cried : 
"Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will 
cure my boy." 9 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 1 87 

Buddha answered : " I want a handful of mustard- 
seed." And when the girl in her joy promised to pro- 
cure it, Buddha added : "The mustard- seed must be 
taken from a house where no one has lost a child, hus- 
band, parent, or friend. " 10 

Poor Krisha Gautami now went from house to 
house, and the people pitied her and said : c < Here is 
mustard-seed; take it ! " But when she asked, "Did 
a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your fam- 
ily?" They answered her: "Alas! the living are few, 
but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our 
deepest grief." And there was no house but some be- 
loved one had died in it. u 

Krisha Gautami became weary and hopeless, and 
sat down at the wayside, watching the lights of the 
city, as they nickered up and were extinguished again. 
At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. 
And she considered the fate of men, that their lives 
flicker up and are extinguished. And she thought to 
herself: "How selfish am I in my grief ! Death is 
common to all ; yet in this valley of desolation there is a 
path that leads him who has surrendered all selfishness 
to immortality." 12 

Putting away the selfishness of her affection for her 
child, Krisha Gautami had the dead body buried in the 
forest. Returning to Buddha, she took refuge in him 
and found comfort in the dharma, which is a balm 
that will soothe all the pains of our troubled hearts. 13 

Buddha said : 14 

The life of mortals in this world is troubled and 
brief and combined with pain. For there is not any 
means by which those that have been born can avoid 
dying ; after reaching old age there is death ; of such 
a nature are living beings. 15 



1 88 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

As ripe fruits are early in danger of falling, so mor- 
tals when born are always in danger of death. 16 

As all earthen vessels made by the potter end in 
being broken, so is the life of mortals. 17 

Both young and adult, both those who are fools 
and those who are wise, all fall into the power of 
death ; all are subject to death. 18 

Of those who, overcome by death, depart from life, 
a father cannot save his son, nor relatives their rela- 
tions. 19 

Mark ! while relatives are looking on and lament- 
ing deeply, one by one of the mortals is carried off, 
like an ox that is led to the slaughter. 20 

So the world is afflicted with death and decay, 
therefore the wise do not grieve, knowing the terms of 
the world. 21 

In whatever manner people think a thing will come 
to pass, it is often different when it happens, and great 
is the disappointment ; see, such are the terms of the 
world. 22 

Not from weeping nor from grieving will any one 
obtain peace of mind ; on the contrary, his pain will be 
the greater and his body will suffer. He will make 
himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by 
his lamentation. 23 

People pass away, and their fate after death will 
be according to their deeds. 24 

Even if a man live a hundred years, or even more, 
he will at last be separated from the company of his 
relatives, and leave the life of this world. 25 

He who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of 
lamentation, and complaint, and grief. ^ 

He who has drawn out the arrow and has become 



PARABLES AND STORIES. 189 

composed will obtain peace of mind , he who has over- 
come all sorrow will become free from sorrow, and be 
blessed. ** 



LXXXV. FOLLOWING THE MASTER OVER THE 
STREAM. 

South of Shravasti there was a great river, very deep 
and wide, on the banks of which lay a hamlet of five 
hundred houses. Its inhabitants had not yet heard 
the good tidings of salvation and were still immersed 
in worldliness and selfish pursuits. 1 

Thinking of the salvation of men, the world-honored 
Buddha resolved to go to the village and preach to the 
people. Accordingly, he came to the riverside and 
sat down beneath a tree, and the villagers seeing the 
glory of his appearance approached him with rev- 
erence ; but when he began to preach to them, they 
believed him not. 2 

When the world-honored Buddha had left Shravasti, 
Shariputra felt a desire to see the Lord and to hear 
him preach. Coming to the river where the water was 
deep and the current strong, he said to himself : "This 
stream shall not prevent me. I shall go and see the 
Blessed One," and he walked across the water, ap- 
proached the Master and saluted him. 3 

The people of the village were astonished to see 
Shariputra, wondering how he had crossed the stream 
where there was neither a bridge nor a ferry, and how 
he could walk on its surface without sinking. 4 

And Shariputra replied: "I lived in ignorance 
until I heard the voice of Buddha. As I was anxious 
to hear the doctrine of salvation, I crossed the river 
and I walked over its troubled waters because I had 



I go THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

faith. Faith, nothing else, enabled me to do so, and 
now I am here in the bliss of the Master's presence." 5 

The World-honored One added : « « Shariputra, thou 
hast spoken well. Faith like thine, alone can save the 
world from the yawning gulf of migration and enable 
men to walk dryshod to the other shore." 6 

And the Blessed One urged to the villagers the ne- 
cessity of ever advancing in the conquest of sorrow 
and of casting off all shackles so as to cross the river of 
worldliness and attain deliverance from death. 7 

Hearing the words of the Tathagata, the villagers 
were filled with joy and believing in the doctrines of 
the Blessed One embraced the five rules and took refuge 
in his name. 8 

LXXXVI. THE SICK BHIKSHU. 

An old bhikshu of a surly disposition was afflicted 
with a loathsome disease the sight and smell of which 
was so nauseating that no one would come near him or 
help him in his distress. And it happened that the 
World-honored One came to the vihara in which the 
unfortunate man lay ; hearing of the case he ordered 
warm water to be prepared and went to the sick-room 
to administer unto the sores of the patient with his 
own hand, saying to his disciples : 1 

"The Tathagata has come into the world to befriend 
the poor, to succor the unprotected, to nourish those 
in bodily affliction, both the followers of the dharma 
and unbelievers, to give sight to the blind and enlighten 
the minds of the deluded, to stand up for the rights of 
orphans as well as the aged, and in so doing to set an 
example to others. This is the consummation of his 
work, and thus he attains the great goal of life as the 
rivers that lose themselves in the ocean," 2 



PARABLES AND STORIES. igi 

The World-honored One administered unto the sick 
bhikshu daily so long as he stayed in that place. And 
the governor of the city came to Buddha to do him 
reverence, and having heard of the service which the 
Lord did in the vihara asked the Blessed One about 
the previous existence of the sick monk, and Buddha 
said : 3 

"In days gone by there was a wicked king who 
used to extort from his subjects all he could get ; and 
he ordered one of his officers to lay the lash on a man 
of eminence. The officer little thinking of the pain he 
inflicted upon others, obeyed ; but when the victim of 
the king's wrath begged for mercy, he felt compassion 
and laid the whip lightly upon him. Now the king 
was reborn as Devadatta, who was abandoned by all 
his followers, because they were no longer willing to 
stand his severity and he died miserable and full of 
penitence. The officer is the sick bhikshu, who having 
often given offence to his brethren in the vihara was 
left without assistance in his distress. The eminent 
man, however, who begged for mercy was Bodhi- 
sattva ; he has been reborn as the Tathagata. It is 
now my lot to help the wretched man as he had mercy 
on me." 4 

And the World-honored One repeated these lines : 
" He who inflicts pain on the gentle, or falsely accuses, 
the innocent, will inherit one of the ten great calami- 
ties. But he who has learned to suffer with patience 
will be purified and will be the chosen instrument for 
the alleviation of suffering." 5 

The diseased bhikshu on hearing these words turned 
to Buddha and confessing his ill-natured temper re- 
pented and with a heart cleansed from sin did rev- 
erence unto the Lord. 6 



THE LAST DAYS. 



LXXXVII. THE CONDITIONS OF WELFARE. 

WHEN the Blessed One was residing on the mount 
called Vulture's Peak, near Rajagriha, Ajatasha- 
tru the king of Magadha, who reigned in the place of 
Bimbisara, planned an attack on the Vriji, and he said 
to Varshakara, his prime minister : "I will root out the 
Vriji, mighty though they be. I will destroy the Vriji ; 
I will bring them to utter ruin ! Come now, O Brah- 
man, and go to the Blessed One ; inquire in my name 
for his health, and tell him my purpose. Bear care- 
fully in mind what the Blessed One may say, and re- 
peat it to me, for the Buddhas speak nothing un- 
true. " * 
When Varshakara, the prime minister, had greeted 
the Blessed One and delivered his message, the ven- 
erable Ananda stood behind the Blessed One and 
fanned him, and the Blessed One said to him : " Have 
you heard, Ananda, that the Vriji hold full and fre- 
quent public assemblies?" 2 
"Lord, so I have heard," replied he. 3 
"So long, Ananda," said the Blessed One, "as the 
Vriji hold these full and frequent public assemblies, 
they may be expected not to decline, but to prosper. 
So long as they meet together in concord, so long as 
they honor their elders, so long as they respect woman- 



THE LAST DAYS. 1 93 

hood, so long as they remain religious, performing all 
proper rites, so long as they extend the rightful pro- 
tection, defence and support to the holy ones, the Vriji 
may be expected not to decline, but to prosper. " 4 

Then the Blessed One addressed Varshakara and 
said : "When I staid, O Brahman, at Vaishali, I taught 
the Vriji these conditions of welfare, that so long as 
they should remain well instructed, so long as they will 
continue in the right path, so long as they should live 
up to the precepts of righteousness, we could expect 
them not to decline, but to prosper." 5 

As soon as the king's messenger had gone, the 
Blessed One had the brethren, that were in the neigh- 
borhood of Rajagriha, assembled in the service-hall, 
and addressed them, saying : 6 

"I will teach you, O bhikshus, the conditions of 
the welfare of a community. Listen well, and I will 
speak. 7 

"So long, O bhikshus, as the brethren hold full 
and frequent assemblies, meeting in concord, rising in 
concord, and attending in concord to the affairs of 
the Sangha, so long as they, O brethren, do not abro- 
gate that which experience has proved to be good, and 
introduce nothing except such things as have been 
carefully tested, so long as their elders practise jus- 
tice, so long as the brethren esteem, revere, and sup- 
port their elders, and hearken unto their words, so long 
as the brethren are not under the influence of craving, 
but delight in the blessings of religion, so that good 
and holy men shall come to them and dwell among 
them in quiet, so long as the brethren shall not be ad- 
dicted to sloth and idleness, so long as the brethren 
shall exercise themselves in the sevenfold higher wis- 
dom of mental activity, search after truth, energy, joy, 



194 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

modesty, self-control, earnest contemplation, and equa- 
nimity of mind, so long the Sangha may be expected 
not to decline, but to prosper. 8 

"Therefore, O bhikshus, be full of faith, modest 
in heart, afraid of sin, anxious to learn, strong in en- 
ergy, active in mind, and full of wisdom." 9 

LXXXVIII. UPRIGHT CONDUCT. 

While the Blessed One stayed at Vulture's Peak he 
held a broad religious conversation with the brethren 
on the nature of upright conduct, and he repeated this 
sermon in a great many places all over the country. x 

And the Blessed One said : 2 

" Great is the fruit, great is the advantage of earn- 
est contemplation, when set round with upright con- 
duct. 3 

" Great is the fruit, great is the advantage of intel- 
lect, when set round with earnest contemplation. 4 

"The mind set round with intelligence is freed 
from the great evils of sensuality, selfishness, delusion, 
and ignorance." 6 

LXXXIX. PATALIPUTRA. 

When the Blessed One had stayed as long as con- 
venient at Nalanda, he went to Pataliputra, the fron- 
tier town of Magadha; and when the disciples at Pa- 
taliputra heard of his arrival, they invited him to their 
village rest-house. And the Blessed One robed him- 
self, took his bowl and went with the brethren to the 
rest-house. There he washed his feet, entered the 
hall, and seated himself against the centre pillar, with 
his face towards the east. The brethren, also, having 
washed their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats 



THE LAST DAYS. 195 

round the Blessed One, against the western wall, facing 
the east. And the lay devotees of Pataliputra, having 
also washed their feet, entered the hall, and took their 
seats opposite the Blessed One, against the eastern 
wall, facing towards the west. 1 

Then the Blessed One addressed the lay-disciples 
of Pataliputra, and he said : 2 

"Fivefold, O householders, is the loss of the wrong- 
doer through his want of rectitude. In the first place, 
the wrong-doer, devoid of rectitude, falls into great 
poverty through sloth ; in the next place, his evil re- 
pute gets noised abroad ; thirdly, whatever society he 
enters, whether of Brahmans, nobles, heads of houses, 
or shramanas, he enters shyly and confusedly ; fourthly, 
he is full of anxiety when he dies ; and lastly, on the 
dissolution of the body after death, his mind remains 
in an unhappy state. Wherever his karma continues, 
there will be suffering and woe. This, O household- 
ers, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! 3 

"Fivefold, O householders, is the gain of the well- 
doer through his practice of rectitude. In the first 
place the well-doer, strong in rectitude, acquires prop- 
erty through his industry; in the next place, good re- 
ports of him are spread abroad ; thirdly, whatever 
society he enters, whether of nobles, Brahmans, heads 
of houses, or members of the order, he enters with con- 
fidence and self-possession ; fourthly, he dies without 
anxiety; and, lastly, on the dissolution of the body after 
death, his mind remains in a happy state. Wherever 
his karma continues, there will be heavenly bliss and 
peace. This, O householders, is the fivefold gain of 
the well-doer." 4 

When the Blessed One had taught the disciples, 
and incited them, and roused them, and gladdened 



I96 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

them far into the night with religious edification, he 
dismissed them, saying, "The night is far spent, O 
householders. It is time for you to do what you deem 
most fit." 5 

"Be it so, Lord V answered the disciples of Pa- 
taliputra, and rising from their seats, they bowed to 
the Blessed One, and keeping him on their right hand 
as they passed him, they departed thence. 6 

While the Blessed One stayed at Pataliputra, the 
king of Magadha sent a messenger to the governor of 
Pataliputra to raise fortifications for the security of 
the town. 7 

And the Blessed One seeing the laborers at work 
predicted the future greatness of the place, saying : 
"The men who build the fortress act as if they had 
consulted higher powers. For this city of Pataliputra 
will be a dwelling-place of busy men and a centre for 
the exchange of all kinds of goods. But three dangers 
hang over Pataliputra, that of fire, that of water, that 
of dissension." 8 

When the governor heard of the prophecy of Pa- 
taliputra's future, he greatly rejoiced and named the 
city-gate through which Buddha had gone towards the 
river Ganges, "The Gautama Gate." 9 

Meanwhile the people living on the banks of the 
Ganges arrived in great numbers to pay reverence to 
the Lord of the world ; and many persons asked him 
to do them the honor to cross over in their boats. 
But the Blessed One considering the number of the 
boats and their beauty did not want to show any par- 
tiality, and by accepting the invitation of one to offend 
all the others. He therefore crossed the river without 
any boat, signifying thereby that the rafts of asceticism 
and the gaudy gondolas of religious ceremonies were 



THE LAST DAYS. 1 97 

not staunch enough to weather the storms of the ocean 
of Samsara, while the boat of wisdom is the safest 
vessel to reach the shore of Nirvana. 10 

And as the city gate was called after the name of 
the Tathagata so the people called this passage of the 
river "Gautama Ford." n 



XC. SHARIPUTRA'S FAITH. 

The Blessed One proceeded with a great company 
of the brethren to Nalanda ; and there he stayed in a 
mango grove. 1 

Now the venerable Shariputra came to the place 
where the Blessed One was, and having saluted him, 
took his seat respectfully at his side, and said : "Lord ! 
such faith have I in the Blessed One, that methinks 
there never has been, nor will there be, nor is there 
now any other, who is greater or wiser than the Bles- 
sed One, that is to say, as regards the higher wis- 
dom." 2 

Replied the Blessed One : c ' Grand and bold are 
the words of thy mouth, Shariputra : verily, thou hast 
burst forth into a song of ecstasy ! Surely then thou 
hast known all the Blessed Ones who in the long ages 
of the past have been holy Buddhas ? " 3 

"Not so, O Lord ! " said Shariputra. 4 

And the Lord continued: "Then thou hast per- 
ceived all the Blessed Ones who in the long ages of 
the future shall be holy Buddhas ? " 5 

"Not so, O Lord !" G 

"But at least then, O Shariputra, thou knowest 
me as the holy Buddha now alive, and hast pene- 
trated my mind." 7 

" Not even that, O Lord ! " 8 



198 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"You see then, Shariputra, that you know not the 
hearts of the holy Buddhas of the past nor the hearts 
of those of the future. Why, therefore, are your words 
so grand and bold ? Why do you burst forth into such 
a song of ecstasy ? " 9 

" O Lord ! I have not the knowledge of the hearts 
of Buddhas that have been and are to come, and now 
are. I only know the lineage of the faith. Just, Lord, 
as a king might have a border city, strong in its foun- 
dations, strong in its ramparts and with one gate 
alone ; and the king might have a watchman there, 
clever, expert, and wise, to stop all strangers and ad- 
mit only friends. And he, on going over the approaches 
all about the city, might not be able to observe all the 
joints and crevices in the ramparts of that city as to 
know where such a small creature as a cat could get 
out. That might well be. Yet all living beings of 
larger size that entered or left the city, would have to 
pass through that gate. Thus only is it, Lord, that I 
know the lineage of the faith. I know that the holy 
Buddhas of the past, putting away all lust, ill-will, 
sloth, pride, and doubt, knowing all those mental 
faults which make men weak, training their minds in 
the four kinds of mental activity, thoroughly exercising 
themselves in the sevenfold higher wisdom, received 
the full fruition of Enlightenment. And I know that 
the holy Buddhas of the times to come will do the 
same. And I know that the Blessed One, the holy 
Buddha of to-day, has done so now." 10 

"Great is thy faith, O Shariputra," replied the 
Blessed One, "but take heed that it be well grounded. " n 



THE LAST DAYS. 1 99 



XCI. THE MIRROR OF TRUTH. 

The Blessed One proceeded to the village Nadika 
with a great company of brethren and there he stayed 
at the Brick Hall. And the venerable Ananda went 
to the Blessed One and mentioning to him the names 
of the brethren and sisters that had died, anxiously in- 
quired about their fate after death, whether they had 
been reborn in animals or in hell, or as ghosts, or in 
any place of woe. 1 

And the Blessed One replied to Ananda and said : 2 

"Those who have died after the complete destruc- 
tion of the three bonds of lust, of covetousness and of 
the egotistical cleaving to existence, need not fear the 
state after death. They will not be reborn in a state of 
suffering ; their minds will not continue as a karma of 
evil deeds or sin, but are assured of final salvation. 3 

"When they die, nothing will remain of them but 
their good thoughts, their righteous acts, and the bliss 
that proceeds from truth and righteousness. As rivers 
must at last reach the distant main, so their minds will 
be reborn in higher states of existence and continue to 
be pressing on to their ultimate goal which is the ocean 
of truth, the eternal peace of Nirvana. 4 

"Men are anxious about death and their fate after 
death ; but there is nothing strange in this, Ananda, 
that a human being should die. However, that you 
should inquire about them, and having heard the truth 
still be anxious about the dead, this is wearisome to 
the Blessed One. I will, therefore, teach you the mir- 
ror of truth : 5 

" 'Hell is destroyed for me, and rebirth as an ani- 



200 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

mal, or a ghost, or in any place of woe. I am con- 
verted ; I am no longer liable to be reborn in a state 
of suffering, and am assured of final salvation. ' 

< ' What, then, Ananda, is this mirror of truth? It 
is the consciousness that the elect disciple is in this 
world possessed of faith in the Buddha, believing the 
Blessed One to be the Holy One, the Fully-enlight- 
ened One, wise, upright, happy, world-knowing, su- 
preme, the Bridler of men's wayward hearts, the 
Teacher of gods and men, the blessed Buddha. 7 

"It is further the consciousness that the disciple is 
possessed of faith in the truth, believing the truth to 
have been proclaimed by the Blessed One, for the ben- 
efit of the world, passing not away, welcoming all, 
leading to salvation, to which through truth the wise 
will attain, each one by his own efforts. 8 

"And, finally, it is the consciousness that the disciple 
is possessed of faith in the order, believing in the effic- 
acy of a union among those men and women who are 
anxious to walk in the noble eightfold path, believing 
this church of the Buddha, of the righteous, the up- 
right, the just, the law-abiding, to be worthy of honor, 
of hospitality, of gifts, and of reverence ; to be the 
supreme sowing-ground of merit for the world ; to be 
possessed of the virtues beloved by the good, virtues 
unbroken, intact, unspotted, unblemished, virtues 
which make men truly free, virtues which are praised 
by the wise, are untarnished by the desire of selfish 
aims, either now or in a future life, or by the belief in 
the efficacy of outward acts, and are conducive to high 
and holy thought. 9 

"This is the mirror of truth which teaches the 
straightest way to enlightenment which is the common 
goal of all living creatures. He who possesses the 



THE LAST DAYS. 201 

mirror of truth is free from fear, will find comfort in 
the tribulations of life, and his life will be a blessing 
to all his fellow-creatures." 10 

XCII. AMBAPALI. 

Then the Blessed One proceeded with a great num- 
ber of brethren to Vaishali, and he stayed at the grove 
of the courtesan Ambapali. And he said to the breth- 
ren : "Let a brother, O bhikshus, be mindful and 
thoughtful. Let a brother, whilst in the world, over- 
come the grief which arises from bodily craving, from 
the lust of sensations, and from the errors of wrong 
reasoning. Whatever you do, act always in full pres- 
ence of mind. Be thoughtful in eating and drinking, 
in walking or standing, in sleeping or waking, in talk- 
ing or in being silent. " 1 

Now the courtesan Ambapali heard that the Blessed 
One had arrived and was staying at her mango grove ; 
and she went in a carriage as far as the ground was 
passable for carriages, and there she alighted. Thence 
proceeding on foot to the place where the Blessed One 
was, she took her seat respectfully on one side. As a 
prudent woman goes forth to perform her religious 
duties, so she appeared in a simple dress without any 
ornaments, yet beautiful to look upon. 2 

And the Blessed One thought to himself : "This 
woman moves in worldly circles and is a favorite of 
kings and princes ; yet is her heart composed and 
quieted. Young in years, rich, surrounded by pleas- 
ures, she is thoughtful and steadfast. This, indeed, is 
rare in the world. Women, as a rule, are scant in 
wisdom and deeply immersed in vanity; but she, al- 
though living in luxury, has acquired the wisdom of a 



202 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

master, taking delight in piety, and able to receive the 
truth in its completeness. " 3 

When she was seated, the Blessed One instructed, 
aroused, and gladdened her with religious discourse. 4 

As she listened to the law, her face brightened with 
delight. Then she rose and said to the Blessed One : 
" May the Blessed One do me the honor of taking his 
meal, together with the brethren, at my house to-mor- 
row?" And the Blessed One gave, by silence, his con- 
sent. 5 

Now, the Licchavi, a wealthy family of princely 
descent, hearing that the Blessed One had arrived at 
Vaishali and was staying at Ambapali's grove, mounted 
their magnificent carriages, and proceeded with their 
retinue to the place where the Blessed One was. And 
the Licchavi were gorgeously dressed in bright colors 
and decorated with costly jewels. 6 

And Ambapali drove up against the young Licchavi, 
axle to axle, wheel to wheel, and yoke to yoke, and 
the Licchavi said to Ambapali, the courtesan : "How 
is it, Ambapali, that you drive up against us thus?" 7 

"My lords," said she, "I have just invited the 
Blessed One and his brethren for their to-morrow's 
meal." 8 

And the princes replied : ' 'Ambapali ! give up this 
meal to us for a hundred thousand." 9 

" My Lord, were you to offer all Vaishali with its 
subject territory, I would not give up so great an 
honor ! " 10 

Then the Licchavi went on to Ambapali's grove. n 

When the Blessed One saw the Licchavi approach- 
ing in the distance, he addressed the brethren, and 
said : " O brethren, let those of the brethren who have 
never seen the gods gaze upon this company of the 



THE LAST DAYS. 20$ 

Licchavi, for they are dressed gorgeously, like immor- 
tals." a 

And when they had driven as far as the ground was 
passable for carriages, the Licchavi alighted and went 
on foot to the place where the Blessed One was, taking 
their seats respectfully by his side. And when they 
were thus seated, the Blessed One instructed, roused, 
and gladdened them with religious discourse. 13 

Then they addressed the Blessed One and said : 
" May the Blessed One do us the honor of taking his 
meal, together with the brethren, at our palace to-mor- 
row?" M 

"O Licchavi," said the Blessed One, "I have 
promised to dine to-morrow with Ambapali, the cour- 
tesan." 15 

Then the Licchavi, expressing their approval of 
the words of the Blessed One, arose from their seats 
and bowed down before the Blessed One, and, keeping 
him on their right hand as they passed him, they de- 
parted thence ; but when they came home, they cast 
up their hands, saying: "A worldly woman has out- 
done us ; we have been left behind by a frivolous 
girl ! " 16 

And at the end of the night Ambapali, the courte- 
san, made ready in her mansion sweet rice and cakes, 
and announced through a messenger the time to the 
Blessed One, saying, " The hour, Lord, has come, and 
the meal is ready!" 17 

And the Blessed One robed himself early in the 
morning, took his bowl, and went with the brethren 
to the place where Ambapali's dwelling-house was : 
and when they had come there they seated themselves 
on the seats prepared for them. And Ampapali, the 
courtesan, set the sweet rice and cakes before the or- 



204 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

der, with the Buddha at their head, and waited upon 
them till they refused to take more. 18 

And when the Blessed One had finished his meal, 
the courtezan had a low stool brought, and sat down 
at his side, and addressed the Blessed One, and said : 
' ' Lord, I present this mansion to the order of bhikshus, 
of which Buddha is the chief." And the Blessed One 
accepted the gift ; and after instructing, rousing, and 
gladdening her with religious edification, he rose from 
his seat and departed thence. w 

XCIII. BUDDHA'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

When the Blessed One had remained as long as he 
wished at Ambapali's grove, he went to Venuvana, 
near Vaishali. There the Blessed One addressed the 
brethren, and said : "O mendicants, do you take up 
your abode for the rainy season round about Vaishali, 
each one according to the place where his friends and 
near companions may live. I shall enter upon the 
rainy season here at Venuvana. " l 

When the Blessed One had thus entered upon the 
rainy season there fell upon him a dire sickness, and 
sharp pains came upon him even unto death. But the 
Blessed One, mindful and self-possessed, bore them 
without complaint. 2 

Then this thought occurred to the Blessed One, 
" It would not be right for me to pass away from life 
without addressing the disciples, without taking leave 
of the order. Let me now, by a strong effort of the 
will, bend this sickness down again, and keep my hold 
on life till the allotted time have come." 3 

And the Blessed One, by a strong effort of the will, 
bent the sickness down, and kept his hold on life till 



THE LAST DAYS. 205 

the time he fixed upon should come. And the sickness 
abated. 4 

Thus the Blessed One began to recover ; and when 
he had quite got rid of the sickness, he went out from 
the monastery, and sat down on a seat spread out in the 
open air. And the venerable Ananda, accompanied by 
many other disciples, approached where the Blessed 
One was, saluted him, and taking a seat respectfully 
on one side, said : "I have beheld, Lord, how the Bles- 
sed One was in health, and I have beheld how the 
Blessed One had to suffer. And though at the sight of 
the sickness of the Blessed One my body became weak 
as a creeper, and the horizon became dim to me, and 
my faculties were no longer clear, yet notwithstanding 
I took some little comfort from the thought that the 
Blessed One would not pass away from existence until 
at least he had left instructions as touching the or- 
der. " 5 

And the Blessed One addressed Ananda for the sake 
of the order and said : 6 

"What, then, Ananda, does the order expect of 
me? I have preached the truth without making any 
distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine ; for 
in respect of the truth, Ananda, the Tathagata has no 
such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps 
some things back. 7 

"Surely, Ananda, should there be any one who har- 
bours the thought, < It is I who will lead the brother- 
hood,' or, < The order is dependent upon me,' he should 
lay down instructions in any matter concerning the 
order. Now the Tathagata , Ananda, thinks not that 
it is he who should lead the brotherhood, or that the 
order is dependent upon him. 8 



206 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"Why, then, should the Tathagata leave instruc- 
tions in any matter concerning the order? 9 

" I am now grown old, O Ananda, and full of years, 
my journey is drawing to its close, I have reached the 
sum of my days, I am turning eighty years of age. 10 

" Just as a worn-out cart can only with much diffi- 
culty be made to move along, so the body of the Ta- 
thagata can only be kept going with much additional 
care. u 

" It is only, Ananda, when the Tathagata, ceasing 
to attend to any outward thing, becomes plunged in 
that devout meditation of heart which is concerned 
with no bodily object, it is only then that the body of 
the Tathagata is at ease. 12 

"Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto your- 
selves. Rely on yourselves, and do not rely on external 
help. 13 

" Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Seek salvation 
alone in the truth. Look not for assistance to any one 
besides yourselves. 14 

"And how, Ananda, can a brother be a lamp unto 
himself, rely on himself only and not on any external 
help, holding fast to the truth as his lamp and seeking 
salvation in the truth alone, looking not for assistance 
to any one besides himself? 15 

" Herein, O Ananda, let a brother, as he dwells in 
the body, so regard the body that he, being strenuous, 
thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world, 
overcome the grief which arises from the body's crav- 
ings. 16 

"While subject to sensations let him continue so 
to regard the sensations that he, being strenuous, 
thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world, 
overcome the grief which arises from the sensations. 17 



THE LAST DAYS. 207 

" And so, also, when he thinks or reasons, or feels, 
let him so regard his thoughts that being strenuous, 
thoughtful, and mindful he may, whilst in the world, 
overcome the grief which arises from the craving due 
to ideas, or to reasoning, or to feeling. lb 

"Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall 
be a lamp unto themselves, relying upon themselves 
only and not relying upon any external help, but holding 
fast to the truth as their lamp, and seeking their salva- 
tion in the truth alone, shall not look for assistance to 
any one besides themselves, it is they, Ananda, among 
my bhikshus, who shall reach the very topmost height! 
But they must be anxious to learn." 19 



XCIV. BUDDHA ANNOUNCES HIS DEATH. 

Said the Tathagata to Ananda : "In former years, 
Ananda, Mara, the Evil One, approached the holy 
Buddha three times to tempt him." * 

When Bodhisattva left the palace, Mara stood in 
the gate and stopped him : "Depart not, O my Lord," 
exclaimed Mara, "in seven days from now the wheel 
of empire will appear, and will make you sovereign 
over the four continents and the two thousand adjacent 
islands. Therefore, stay, my Lord." 2 

Bodhisattva replied: "Well do I know that the 
wheel of empire will appear to me ; but it is not sov- 
ereignty that I desire. I will become a Buddha and 
make all the world shout for joy. 3 

"Again, Ananda, the Evil One approached the Ta- 
thagata when, after a practice of severe self-mortifica- 
tion, having bathed his body, he left the Nairanjana 
river. Mara said: 'Thou art emaciated from fasts, 



/ 



208 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

and death is near. What good is thy exertion ? Deign 
to live, and thou wilt be able to do good works.' 4 

"Then the Blessed One made reply: ' O thou friend 
of the indolent, thou wicked one ; for what purpose 
hast thou come? 5 

"Let the flesh waste away, if but the mind becomes 
more tranquil and attention more steadfast. 6 

"What is life in this world? Death in battle is 
better to me than that I should live defeated.' 

"And Mara left the Tathagata, saying : ' For seven 
years I followed the Blessed One step by step, but I 
found no fault in the Enlightened One.' 8 

"A third time, Ananda, the tempter approached 
the Blessed One when he was resting under the shep- 
herd's Nyagrodha tree on the bank of the river Nairan- 
jana, immediately after having reached the great en- 
lightenment. Then Mara, the Evil One, came to the 
place where the Blessed One was, and, standing be- 
side him, he addressed him in the words : ' Pass away 
now, Lord, from existence ! Let the Blessed One now 
die ! Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass 
away ! ' 9 

"And when Mara had thus spoken, the Blessed 
One said : * I shall not die, O Evil One, until not only 
the brethren and sisters of the order, but also the lay- 
disciples of both sexes, shall have become true hearers, 
wise and well trained, ready and learned, versed in the 
Scriptures, fulfilling all the greater and lesser duties, 
correct in life, walking according to the precepts — 
until they, having thus themselves learned the doctrine, 
shall be able to give information to others concerning 
it, preach it, make it known, establish it, open it, 
minutely explain it, and make it clear — until they, when 
others start vain doctrines, shall be able to vanquish 



THE LAST DAYS. 200, 

and refute them, and so to spread the wonder-working 
truth abroad ! I shall not die until the pure religion of 
truth shall have become successful, prosperous, wide- 
spread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in 
a word, it shall have been well proclaimed among 



men 



! » 10 



" Thus three times did Mara approach me in former 
years. And now, Ananda, Mara, the Evil One, came 
again to-day to the place where I was, and, standing 
beside me, addressed me in the same words : ' Pass 
away, Lord, from existence.' And when he had thus 
spoken, Ananda, I answered him and said: ' Make 
thyself happy ; the final extinction of the Tathagata 
shall take place before long.' " n 

And the venerable Ananda addressed the Blessed 
One and said : "Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain with us, 
O Blessed One ! for the good and the happiness of the 
great multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the 
good and the gain of mankind ! " 12 

Said the Blessed One : " Enough now, Ananda, be- 
seech not the Tathagata ! " 13 

And again, a second time, the venerable Ananda 
besought the Blessed One in the same words. And he 
received from the Blessed One the same reply. 14 

And again, the third time, the venerable Ananda 
besought the Blessed One to live longer ; and the 
Blessed One said : " Hast thou faith, Ananda ? " 13 

Said Ananda : "I have, my Lord ! " 16 

And the Blessed One, seeing the quivering eyelids 
of Ananda, read the deep grief in the heart of his be- 
loved disciple, and he asked again : "Hast thou, in- 
deed, faith, Ananda?" 17 

And Ananda said : "I have faith, my Lord." 18 

Then the Blessed One continued: " If thou hast 



2IO THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

faith, Ananda, in the wisdom of the Tathagata, why, 
then, Ananda, dost thou trouble the Tathagata even 
until the third time? Have I not formerly declared to 
you that it is in the very nature of all things, near and 
dear unto us, that we must separate from them, and 
leave them? How then, Ananda, can it be possible 
for me to remain, since everything that is born, or 
brought into being, and organised, contains within it- 
self the inherent necessity of dissolution ? How, then, 
can it be possible that this body of mine should not be 
dissolved? No such condition can exist ! And this 
mortal existence, O Ananda, has been relinquished, 
cast away, renounced, rejected, and abandoned by the 
Tathagata. " 19 

And the Blessed One said to Ananda : " Go now, 
Ananda, and assemble in the Service Hall such of the 
brethren as reside in the neighborhood of Vaishali." 20 

Then the Blessed One proceeded to the Service 
Hall, and sat down there on the mat spread out for 
him. And when he was seated, the Blessed One ad- 
dressed the brethren, and said : 21 

" O brethren, ye to whom the truth has been made 
known, having thoroughly made yourselves masters of 
it, practise it, meditate upon it, and spread it abroad, 
in order that pure religion may last long and be per- 
petuated, in order that it may continue for the good 
and happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for 
the world, and to the good and gain of all living be- 
ings! 22 

"Star-gazing and astrology, forecasting lucky or 
unfortunate events by signs, prognosticating good or 
evil, all these are things forbidden. 23 

" He who lets his heart go loose without restraint 
shall not attain Nirvana ; therefore, must we hold the 



THE LAST DAYS. 211 



24 



heart in check, and retire from worldly excitements 
and seek tranquillity of mind. 

" Eat your food to satisfy your hunger, and drink 
to satisfy your thirst. Satisfy the necessities of life 
like the butterfly that sips the flower, without destroy- 
ing its fragrance or its texture. 25 

"It is through not understanding and grasping the 
four truths, O brethren, that we have gone astray so 
long, and wandered in this weary path of transmigra- 
tions, both you and I, until we have found the truth. 26 

" Practise the earnest meditations I have taught 
you. Continue in the great struggle against sin. Walk 
steadily in the roads of saintship. Be strong in moral 
powers. Let the organs of your spiritual sense be 
quick. When the seven kinds of wisdom enlighten 
your mind, you will find the noble, eightfold path that 
leads to Nirvana. 27 

"Behold, O brethren, the final extinction of the 
Tathagata will take place before long. I now exhort 
you, saying : 'All component things must grow old and 
be dissolved again. Seek ye for that which is perma- 
nent, and work out your salvation with diligence. ' " 28 

XCV. CHUNDA, THE SMITH. 

And the Blessed One went to Pava. 1 

When Chunda, the worker in metals, heard that 
the Blessed One had come to Pava and was staying in 
his mango grove, he came to Buddha and respectfully 
invited him and the brethren to take their meal at his 
house. And Chunda prepared rice-cakes and a quan- 
tity of dried boar's flesh. 2 
When the Blessed One had eaten the food pre- 
pared by Chunda, the worker in metals, there fell upon 



212 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

him a dire sickness, and sharp pain came upon him 
even unto death. But the Blessed One, mindful and 
self-possessed, bore it without complaint. 3 

And the Blessed One addressed the venerable 
Ananda, and said: "Come, Ananda, let us go on to 
Kushinagara." 4 

On his way the Blessed One grew tired, and he 
went aside from the road to rest at the foot of a tree, 
and said : "Fold, I pray you, Ananda, the robe, and 
spread it out for me. I am weary, Ananda, and must 
rest awhile ! " 5 

"Be it so, Lord!" said the venerable Ananda; 
and he spread out the robe folded fourfold. 6 

The Blessed One seated himself, and when he was 
seated he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : 
" Fetch me, I pray you, Ananda, some water. I am 
thirsty, Ananda, and would drink." 7 

When he had thus spoken, the venerable Ananda 
said to the Blessed One : ' ' But just now, Lord, five 
hundred carts have gone over and have stirred the 
water ; but a river, O Lord, is not far off. Its water 
is clear and pleasant, cool and transparent, and it is 
easy to get down to it. There the Blessed One may 
both drink water and cool his limbs." 8 

A second time the Blessed One addressed the ven- 
erable Ananda, saying : " Fetch me, I pray you, 
Ananda, some water. I am thirsty, Ananda, and would 
drink." » 

And a second time the venerable Ananda said : 
"Let us go to the river." 10 

Then the third time the Blessed One addressed the 
venerable Ananda, and said : " Fetch me, I pray you, 
Ananda, some water. I am thirsty, Ananda, and would 
drink." 11 



THE LAST DAYS. 213 

"Be it so, Lord ! " said the venerable Ananda in 
assent to the Blessed One ; and, taking a bowl, he 
went down to the streamlet. And lo! the streamlet, 
which, stirred up by wheels, had become muddy, when 
the venerable Ananda came up to it, flowed clear and 
bright and free from all turbidity. And he thought : 
"How wonderful, how marvellous is the great might 
and power of the Tathagata ! " V1 

Ananda brought the water in the bowl to the Lord, 
saying : "Let the Blessed One take the bowl. Let the 
Happy One drink the water. Let the Teacher of men 
and gods quench his thirst. " 13 

Then the Blessed One drank of the water. 14 

Now, at that time a man of low caste, named Puk- 
kasha, a young Malla, a disciple of Arada Kalama, 
was passing along the high road from Kushinagara to 
Pava. 15 

And Pukkasha, the young Malla, saw the Blessed 
One seated at the foot of a tree. On seeing him, he 
went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and 
when he had come there, he saluted the Blessed One 
and took his seat respectfully on one side. Then the 
Blessed One instructed, edified, and gladdened Puk- 
kasha, the young Malla, with religious discourse. K 

Aroused and gladdened by the words of the Blessed 
One, Pukkasha, the young Malla, addressed a certain 
man who happened to pass by, and said : " Fetch me, 
I pray you, my good man, two robes of cloth of gold, 
burnished and ready for wear.'' 17 

"Be it so, sir!" said that man in assent to Puk- 
kasha, the young Malla ; and he brought two robes of 
cloth of gold, burnished and ready for wear. 18 

And the Malla, Pukkasha, presented the two robes 
of cloth of gold, burnished and ready for wear, to the 



214 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Blessed One, saying : " Lord, these two robes of bur- 
nished cloth of gold are ready for wear. May the 
Blessed One show me favor and accept them at my 
hands ! " 19 

The Blessed One said : " Pukkasha, robe me in one, 
and Ananda in the other." 2° 

And the Tathagata's body appeared shining like a 
flame, and he was beautiful above all expression. 21 

And the venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One: 
"How wonderful a thing is it, Lord, and how marvel- 
lous, that the color of the skin of the Blessed One 
should be so clear, so exceedingly bright ! When I 
placed this robe of burnished cloth of gold on the body 
of the Blessed One, lo! it seemed as if it had lost its 
splendor! " B 

The Blessed One said : " There are two occasions 
on which a Tathagata's appearance becomes clear and 
exceeding bright. In the night, Ananda, in which a 
Tathagata attains to the supreme and perfect insight, 
and in the night in which he passes finally away in 
that utter passing away which leaves nothing whatever 
of his earthly existence to remain." & 

And the Blessed One addressed the venerable 
Ananda, and said: "Now it may happen, Ananda, 
that some one should stir up remorse in Chunda, the 
smith, by saying : ' It is evil to thee, Chunda, and loss 
to thee, that the Tathagata died, having eaten his last- 
meal from thy provision.' Any such remorse, Ananda, 
in Chunda, the smith, should be checked by saying : 
< It is good to thee, Chunda, and gain to thee, that the 
Tathagata died, having eaten his last meal from thy 
provision. From the very mouth of the Blessed One, 
O Chunda, have I heard, from his own mouth have I 
received this saying, "These two offerings of food are 



THE LAST DAYS. 215 

of equal fruit and of much greater profit than any 
other : the offerings of food which a Tathagata accepts 
when he has attained perfect enlightenment and when 
he passes away by the utter passing away in which 
nothing whatever of his earthly existence remains be- 
hind — these two offerings of food are of equal fruit 
and of equal profit, and of much greater fruit and much 
greater profit than any other. There has been laid up 
by Chunda, the smith, a karma redounding to length 
of life, redounding to good birth, redounding to good 
fortune, redounding to good fame, redounding to the 
inheritance of heaven and of great power.'" In this 
way, Ananda, should be checked any remorse in 
Chunda, the smith." 24 

Then the Blessed One, perceiving that death was 
near, uttered these words : "He who gives away shall 
have real gain. He who subdues himself shall be free 
of passions. The righteous man casts off sin ; and by 
rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion, do we reach 
Nirvana.'" 25 

XCVI. MAITREYA. 

The Blessed One proceeded with a great company 
of the brethren to the shala grove of the Mallas, the 
Upavartana of Kushinagara on the further side of the 
river Hiranyavati, and when he had arrived he ad- 
dressed the venerable Ananda, and said : " Make ready 
for me, I pray you, Ananda, the couch with its head to 
the north, between the twin shala trees. I am weary, 
Ananda, and wish to lie down." * 

"Be it so, Lord ! " said the venerable Ananda, and 
he spread a couch with its head to the north, between 
the twin shala trees. And the Blessed One laid him- 
self down, and he was mindful and self-possessed. 2 



2l6 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Now, at that time the twin shala trees were full of 
bloom with flowers out of season ; and heavenly songs 
came wafted from the skies, out of reverence for the 
successor of the Buddhas of old. And Ananda was 
filled with wonder that the Blessed One was thus hon- 
ored. But the Blessed One said: "Not by such 
events, Ananda, is the Tathagata rightly honored, held 
sacred, or revered. But the brother or the sister, the 
devout man or the devout woman, who continually 
fulfils all the greater and the lesser duties, walking ac- 
cording to the precepts, it is they who rightly honor, 
hold sacred, and revere the Tathagata with the worth- 
iest homage. Therefore, O Ananda, be ye constant in 
the fulfilment of the greater and of the lesser duties, 
and walk according to the precepts; thus, Ananda, 
will ye honor the Master." 3 

Then the venerable Ananda went into the vihara, 
and stood leaning against the lintel of the door, 
weeping at the thought : "Alas ! I remain still but a 
learner, one who has yet to work out his own perfec- 
tion. And the Master is about to pass away from me — 
he who is so kind ! " 4 

Now, the Blessed One called the brethren, and 
said : "Where, O brethren, is Ananda?" 6 

And one of the brethren went and called Ananda. 
And Ananda came and said to the Blessed One : 
"Deep darkness reigned for want of wisdom; the 
world of sentient creatures was groping for want of 
light ; then the Tathagata lit up the lamp of wisdom, 
and now it will be extinguished again, ere he has 
brought it out." 6 

And the Blessed One said to the venerable Ananda, 
as he sat there by his side : 7 

"Enough, Ananda! Do not let yourself be troubled; 



THE LAST DAYS. 217 

do not weep ! Have I not already, on former occasions, 
told you that it is in the very nature of all things most 
near and dear unto us that we must separate from them 
and leave them ? 8 

" The foolish man conceives the idea of 'self,' the 
wise man sees there is no ground on which to build 
the idea of ' self,' thus he has a right conception of 
the world and well concludes that all compounds 
amassed by sorrow will be dissolved again, but the 
truth will remain. 9 

"Why should I preserve this body of flesh, when 
the body of the excellent law will endure? I am re- 
solved ; having accomplished my purpose and attended 
to the work set me, I look for rest ! This is the one 
thing needed. 10 

"For a long time, Ananda, have you been very 
near to me by thoughts and acts of such love as never 
varies and is beyond all measure. You have done 
well, Ananda ! Be earnest in effort and you too shall 
soon be free from the great evils, from sensuality, from 
selfishness, from delusion, and from ignorance ! " n 

And Ananda, suppressing his tears, said to the 
Blessed One: "Who shall teach us when thou art 
gone?'' 12 

And the Blessed One replied : "I am not the first 
Buddha who came upon earth, nor shall I be the last. 
I came to teach you the truth, and I have founded on 
earth the kingdom of truth. Gautama Siddhartha will 
die, but Buddha will live, for Buddha is the truth, and 
the truth cannot die. He who believes in the truth 
and lives it, is my disciple, and I shall teach him. The 
truth will be propagated, and the kingdom of truth 
will increase for about five hundred years. Then for 
a while the clouds of error will darken the light, and 



2l8 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

in due time another Buddha will arise, and he will re- 
veal to you the selfsame eternal truth which I have 
taught you. " 13 

Ananda said : " How shall we know him? " 14 

The Blessed One said: "The Buddha that will 
come after me will be known as Maitreya, which means 
'he whose name is kindness.' " 15 

XCVII. BUDDHA'S DEATH. 

Then the Mallas, with their young men and maid- 
ens and their wives, being grieved, and sad, and 
afflicted at heart, went to the Upavartana, the shala 
grove of the Mallas, and wanted to see the Blessed 
One, in order to partake of the bliss that devolves 
upon those who are in the presence of the Holy One. 1 

And the Blessed One addressed them and said : 2 

"Seeking the way, you must exert yourselves and 
strive with diligence. It is not enough to have seen 
me! Walk as I have commanded you ; free yourself of 
the tangled net of sorrow. Walk in the path with 
steadfast aim. 3 

"A sick man may be cured by the healing power 
of medicine and will be rid of all his ailments without 
beholding the physician. 4 

" He who does not do what I command sees me in 
vain. This brings no profit. Whilst he who lives far 
off from where I am and yet walks righteously is ever 
near me. 5 

"A man may dwell beside me, and yet, being dis- 
obedient, be far away from me. Yet he who obeys 
the dharma will always enjoy the bliss of the Tatha- 
gata's presence." 6 

Then the mendicant Subhadra went to the shala 



THE LAST DAYS. 2ig 

grove of the Mallas and said to the venerable Ananda : 
"I have heard from fellow mendicants of mine, who 
were deep stricken in years and teachers of great ex- 
perience : ' Sometimes and full seldom do Tathagatas 
appear in the world, the holy Buddhas.' Now it is 
said that to-day in the last watch of the night, the final 
passing away of the shramana Gautama will take place. 
My mind is full of uncertainty, yet have I faith in the 
shramana Gautama and trust he will be able so to pre- 
sent the truth that I may get rid of my doubts. O that 
I might be allowed to see the shramana Gautama ! " 7 

When he had thus spoken the venerable Ananda 
said to the mendicant Subhadra : "Enough! friend 
Subhadra. Trouble not the Tathagata. The Blessed 
One is weary." 8 

Now the Blessed One overheard this conversation 
of the venerable Ananda with the mendicant Subha- 
dra. And the Blessed One called the venerable Ananda, 
and said : "Ananda ! Do not keep out Subhadra. Su- 
bhadra may be allowed to see the Tathagata. What- 
ever Subhadra will ask of me, he will ask from a desire 
of knowledge, and not to annoy me, and whatever I 
may say inanswerto his questions, that he will quickly 
understand." 9 

Then the venerable Ananda said to Subhadra the 
mendicant : " Step in, friend Subhadra; for the Bles- 
sed One gives you leave." 10 

When the Blessed One had instructed Subhadra, 
and aroused and gladdened him with words of wisdom 
and comfort, Subhadra said to the Blessed One : n 

"Glorious Lord, glorious Lord! Most excellent 
are the words of thy mouth, most excellent ! They set 
up that which has been overturned, they reveal that 
which has been hidden. They point out the right road 



220 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

to the wanderer who has gone astray. They bring a 
lamp into the darkness so that those who have eyes to 
see can see. Thus, Lord, the truth has been made 
known to me by the Blessed One and I take my refuge 
in the Blessed One, in the Truth, and in the Order. 
May the Blessed One accept me as a disciple and true 
believer, from this day forth as long as life endures." 12 

And Subhadra, the mendicant, said to the vener- 
able Ananda: " Great is your gain, friend Ananda, 
great is your good fortune, that for so many years you 
have been sprinkled with the sprinkling of discipleship 
in this brotherhood at the hands of the Master him- 
self ! " M 

Now the Blessed One addressed the venerable 
Ananda, and said : "It may be, Ananda, that in some 
of you the thought may arise, < The word of the Master 
is ended, we have no teacher more ! ' But it is not 
thus, Ananda, that you should regard it. It is true 
that no more shall I receive a body, for all future sor- 
row is now forever passed away. But while Gautama 
Siddhartha is gone, Buddha remains. The truth and 
the rules of the order which I have set forth and 
laid down for you all, let them, after I am gone, be a 
teacher unto you. When I am gone, Ananda, let the 
order, if it should so wish, abolish all the lesser and 
minor precepts." 14 

Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and 
said : "There may be some doubt or misgiving in the 
mind of a brother as to the Buddha, or the truth, or 
the path. Do not have to reproach yourselves after- 
wards with the thought, * We did not inquire of the 
Blessed One when we were face to face with him.' 
Therefore inquire now, O brethren, inquire freely." 15 

And the brethren remained silent. 16 



THE LAST DAYS. 221 

Then the venerable Ananda said to the Blessed 
One : ' ' Verily, I believe that in this whole assembly 
of the brethren there is not one brother who has any 
doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the truth, or 
the path ! " 17 

Said the Blessed One : " It is out of the fullness of 
faith that thou hast spoken, Ananda ! But, Ananda, 
the Tathagata knows for certain that in this whole as- 
sembly of the brethren there is not one brother who 
has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the 
truth, or the path ! For even the most backward, 
Ananda, of all these brethren has become converted, 
and is assured of final salvation." 18 

Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren and 
said : "If ye now know the dharma, the cause of all 
suffering, and the path of salvation, O disciples, will 
ye then say: 'We respect the Master, and out of rev- 
erence for the Master do we thus speak ! ' " 19 

The brethren replied : "That we shall not, O 
Lord." 20 

And the Holy One continued : 21 

< ' Of those beings who live in ignorance, shut up and 
confined, as it were, in an egg, I have first broken the 
egg-shell of ignorance and alone in the universe ob- 
tained the most exalted, universal Buddhahood. Thus, 

disciples, I am the eldest, the noblest of beings. <n 

"But what ye speak, O disciples, is it not even 
that which ye have yourselves known, yourselves seen, 
yourselves realised?" 23 

Ananda and the brethren said : " It is, O Lord." 21 
Once more the Blessed One began to speak : " Be- 
hold now, brethren," said he, "I exhort you, saying, 

1 Decay is inherent in all component things, but the 
truth will remain forever ! ' Work out your salvation 



222 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

with diligence ! " This was the last word of the Ta- 
thagata. Then the Tathagata fell into a deep medita- 
tion, and having lost consciousness passed peacefully 
away. i2b 

When the Blessed One entered Nirvana there 
arose, at his passing out of existence, a mighty earth- 
quake, terrible and awe-inspiring : and the thunders 
of heaven burst forth, and of those of the brethren 
who were not yet free from passions some stretched 
out their arms and wept, and some fell headlong on 
the ground, in anguish at the thought : " Too soon has 
the Blessed One died ! Too soon has the Happy One 
passed away from existence ! Too soon has the Light 
of the world gone out ! " 26 

Then the venerable Anuruddha exhorted the breth- 
ren and said: "Enough, my brethren! Weep not, 
neither lament ! Has not the Blessed One formerly de- 
clared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all things 
near and dear unto us, that we must separate from 
them and leave them, since everything that is born, 
brought into being, and organised, contains within 
itself the inherent necessity of dissolution ? How then 
can it be possible that the body of the Tathagata 
should not be dissolved? No such condition can exist ! 
Those who are free from passion will bear the loss, 
calm and self-possessed, mindful of the truth he has 
taught us." 27 

And the venerable Anuruddha and the venerable 
Ananda spent the rest of the night in religious dis- 
course. 28 

Then the venerable Anuruddha said to the vener- 
able Ananda : " Go now, brother Ananda, and inform 
the Mallas of Kushinagara saying, ' The Blessed One 



THE LAST DAYS. 223 

has passed away : do, then, whatsoever seemeth to you 
fit ! ' " 29 

And when the Mallas had heard this saying they 
were grieved, and sad, and afflicted at heart. 30 

Then the Mallas of Kushinagara gave orders to their 
attendants, saying, "Gather together perfumes and 
garlands, and all the music in Kushinagara ! " And the 
Mallas of Kushinagara took the perfumes and gar- 
lands, and all the musical instruments, and five hun- 
dred garments, and went to the shala grove where the 
body of the Blessed One lay. There they passed the 
day in paying honor and reverence to the remains of 
the Blessed One, with dancing, and hymns, and music, 
and with garlands and perfumes, and in making can- 
opies of their garments, and preparing decorative 
wreaths to hang thereon. And they burned the re- 
mains of the Blessed One as they would do to the body 
of a king of kings. ■ 31 

When the funeral pyre was lit, the sun and moon 
withdrew their shining, the peaceful streams on every 
side were torrent-swollen, the earth quaked, and the 
sturdy forests shook like aspen leaves, whilst flowers 
and leaves untimely fell to the ground, like scattered 
rain, so that all Kushinagara became strewn knee-deep 
with mandara flowers raining down from heaven. 32 

When the burning ceremonies were over, Deva- 
putra said to the multitudes that were assembled round 
the pyre : 33 

"Behold, O brethren, the earthly remains of the 
Blessed One have been dissolved, but the truth which 
he has taught us lives in our minds and cleanses us 
from all sin. 3i 

"Let us, then, go out into the world, as compassion- 
ate and merciful as our great master, and preach to all 



224 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

living beings the four noble truths and the eightfold 
path of righteousness, so that all mankind may attain 
to a final salvation, taking refuge in the Buddha, the 
Dharma, and the Sangria." 35 

And when the Blessed One had entered into Nir- 
vana, and the Mallas had burned the body with such 
ceremonies as would indicate that he was the great 
king of kings, ambassadors came from all the empires 
that at the time had embraced his doctrine, to claim a 
share of the relics ; and the relics were divided into 
eight parts and eight dagobas were erected for their 
preservation. One dagoba was erected by the Mallas 
and seven others by the seven kings of those countries, 
the people of which had taken refuge in Buddha. 36 



CONCLUSION, 



XCVIII. THE THREE PERSONALITIES OF BUDDHA. 

WHEN the Blessed One had passed away into Nir- 
vana, the disciples came together and consulted 
what to do in order to keep the dharma pure and uncor- 
rupted by heresies. 1 

And Upali rose, saying : 2 

"Our great Master used to say to the brethren : 'O 
bhikshus ! after my Nirvana 3 r ou must reverence and 
obey the law. Regard the law as your master. The 
law is like unto a light that shines in the darkness, 
pointing out the way; it is also like unto a precious 
jewel to gain which you must shun no trouble, and be 
ready to bring any sacrifice, even, should it be needed, 
your own lives. Obey the dharma which I have re- 
vealed to 3 r ou ; follow it carefully and regard it in no 
way different from myself. ' 3 

"Such were the words of the Blessed One. 4 

"The law, accordingly, which Buddha has left us 
as a precious inheritance has now become the visible 
body of the Tathagata. Let us, therefore, revere it 
and keep it sacred. For what is the use of erecting 
dagobas for relics, if we neglect the spirit of the Mas- 
ter's teachings." 5 
And Auuruddha arose and said : 6 



226 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

"Let us bear in mind, O brethren, that Gautama 
Siddhartha was the visible appearance of the truth it- 
self. He was the Holy One and the Perfect One and 
the Blessed One, because the eternal truth had taken 
abode in his body. The great Shakyamuni is the bodily 
incarnation of the truth, and he has revealed the truth 
to us. 7 

"The Tathagata taught us that the truth existed 
before he was born into this world, and will exist after 
he has entered into the bliss of Nirvana. 8 

"The Tathagata said: 9 

" 'The Blessed One is the truth ; and as such he 
is omnipresent and eternal, endowed with excellencies 
innumerable, above all human nature, and ineffable in 
his holiness. ' 10 

"Now, let us bear in mind that not this or that law 
which he has given us in the dharma is Buddha, but 
the truth, the truth which is eternal, omnipresent, im- 
mutable, and most excellent. n 

"Many laws of the dharma are temporary and were 
prescribed because they suited the occasion and were 
needed for some transient emergency. The truth, how- 
ever, is not temporary. 12 

"The truth is not arbitrary or a matter of opinion, 
but can be investigated, and he who earnestly searches 
for the truth will find it. 13 

"The truth is hidden to the blind, but he who has 
the mental eye sees the truth. The truth is Buddha's 
essence, and the truth will remain the ultimate stan- 
dard by which we can discern false and true doc- 
trines. 14 

"Let us, then, revere the truth ; let us inquire into 
the truth and state it, and let us obey the truth. For 



CONCLUSION. 227 

the truth is Buddha our Master, our Teacher, our 
Lord." 15 

And Kashyapa rose and said : 1G 

" Truly you have spoken well, O brethren. Neither 
is there any conflict of opinion on the meaning of our 
religion. For the Blessed One possesses three per- 
sonalities, and every one of them is of equal impor- 
tance to us. 17 

"There is the Dharma Kaya. There is the Nir- 
mana Kaya. There is the Sambhoga Kaya. 18 

"Buddha is the all-excellent truth, eternal, omni- 
present, and immutable. This is the Sambhoga Kaya 
which is in a state of perfect bliss. 19 

"Buddha is the all-loving teacher assuming the 
shape of the beings whom he teaches.. This is the 
Nirmana Kaya, his apparitional body. 20 

"Buddha is the all-blessed dispensation of reli- 
gion. He is the spirit of the Sangha and the meaning 
of the commands which he has left us in his sacred 
word, the dharma. This is the Dharma Kaya, the 
body of the most excellent law. a 

"If Buddha had not appeared to us as Gautama 
Shakyamuni, how could we have the sacred traditions 
of his doctrine? And if the generations to come did not 
have the sacred traditions preserved in the Sangha, 
how could they know anything of the great Shakya- 
muni? And neither we nor others would know anything 
about the most excellent truth which is eternal, omni- 
present, and immutable. M 

"Let us then keep sacred and revere the tradi- 
tions ; let us keep sacred the memory of Gautama 
Shakyamuni, so that both may serve us to find the 
truth ; for he whose spiritual eye is open will discover 
it, and it is the same to every one who possesses the 



228 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

comprehension of a Buddha to recognise it and to ex- 
pound it." 23 
Then the brethren decided to convene a synod in 
Rajagriha in order to lay down the pure doctrines of 
the Blessed One, to collect and collate the sacred 
writings, and establish a canon which should serve as 
a source of instruction for future generations. 24 

XCIX. THE PURPOSE OF BEING. 

When in the cycle of forming universes the first 
tangible shapes of sun and earth and moon appeared, 
Truth moved in the cosmic dust and filled the whole 
world with blazing light. Yet there was no eye to see 
the light, no ear to listen to the truth, no mind to per- 
ceive its meaning ; and in the immeasurable spaces of 
existence no place was found where the truth could 
abide in all its glory. 1 

In the due course of evolution sentiency appeared 
and sense-perception arose. There was a new realm 
of soul-life, full of yearning, with powerful passions 
and of unconquerable energy. And the world split in 
twain : there were pleasures and pains, self and not- 
self, friends and foes, hatred and love. The truth 
vibrated through the world of sentiency, but in all its 
infinite potentialities no place could be found where 
the truth could abide in all its glory. 2 

And reason came forth in the struggle for life. 
Reason began to guide the instinct of self, and reason 
took the sceptre of the creation and overcame the 
strength of the brutes and the power of the elements. 
Yet reason seemed to add new fuel to the flame of ha- 
tred, increasing the turmoil of conflicting passions ; 
and brothers slew their brothers for the sake of satis- 



CONCLUSION. 229 

fying the lust of a fleeting moment. And the truth 
repaired to the domains of reason, but in all its recesses 
no place was found where the truth could abide in all 
its glory. 3 

Now reason, as the helpmate of self, implicated all 
living beings more and more in the meshes of lust, 
hatred, and envy, and from lust, hatred, and envy the 
evils of sin originated. Men broke down under the 
burdens of life, until the saviour appeared, the great 
Buddha, the Holy Teacher of men and gods. 4 

And Buddha taught men the right use of sentiency, 
and the right application of reason ; and he taught 
men to see things as they are, without illusions, and 
they learned to act according to truth. He taught 
righteousness and thus changed rational creatures into 
humane beings, just, kind-hearted, and faithful. And 
now at last a place was found where the truth might 
abide in all its glory, and this place is the soul of man- 
kind. 5 

Buddha, O Blessed One, O Holy One, O Perfect 
One, thou hast revealed the truth, and the truth has 
appeared upon earth and the kingdom of truth has 
been founded. 6 

There is no room for truth in space, infinite though 
it be. 7 

There is no room for truth in sentiency, neither in 
its pleasures nor in its pains ; sentiency is the first 
footstep of truth, but there is no room in it for the 
truth, though it may beam with the blazing glow of 
beauty and life. 8 

Neither is there any room for truth in rationality. 
Rationality is a two-edged sword and serves the pur- 
pose of love equally as well as the purpose of hatred. 
Rationality is the platform on which the truth stand- 



230 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

eth. No truth is attainable without reason. Never- 
theless, in mere rationality there is no room for truth, 
though it be the instrument that masters the things of 
the world. 9 

The throne of truth is righteousness ; and love and 
justice and good-will are its ornaments. 10 

Righteousness is the place in which truth dwells, 
and here in the souls of mankind aspiring after the 
realisation of righteousness, there is ample space for a 
rich and ever richer revelation of the truth. n 

This is the Gospel of the Blessed One. This is the 
revelation of the Enlightened One. This is the bequest 
of the Holy One. 12 

Those who accept the truth and have faith in the 
truth, take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the 
Sangha. 13 

Receive us, O Buddha, as thy disciples from this 
day hence, so long as our life lasts. 14 

Comfort, O holy Teacher, compassionate and all- 
loving, the afflicted and the sorrow-laden, illumine 
those who go astray, and let us all gain more and 
more in comprehension and in holiness. 15 

The truth is the end and aim of all existence, and 
the worlds originate so that the truth may come and 
dwell therein. 1(J 

Those who fail to aspire for the truth have missed 
the purpose of life. 17 

Blessed is he who rests in the truth, for all things 
will pass away, but the truth abideth forever. 18 

The world is built for the truth, but false combina- 
tions of thought misrepresent the true state of things 
and bring forth errors. 19 

Errors can be fashioned as it pleases those who 
cherish them ; therefore they are pleasant to look 



CONCLUSION. 231 

upon, but they are unstable and contain the seeds of 
dissolution. 20 

Truth cannot be fashioned. Truth is one and the 
same ; it is immutable. 21 

Truth is above the power of death, it is omni- 
present, eternal, and most glorious. 22 

Illusions, errors, and lies are the daughters of Mara, 
and great power is given unto them to seduce the 
minds of men and lead them astray upon the path of 
sin. 23 

The nature of delusions, errors, and lies is death ; 
and sin is the way to perdition. 24 

Delusions, errors, and lies are like huge, gaudy 
vessels, the rafters of which are rotten and worm- 
eaten, and those who embark in them are fated to be 
shipwrecked. ^ 

There are many who say: "Come error, be thou 
my guide," and when they are caught in the meshes of 
selfishness, lust, and evil desires, misery is begot. 26 

Yet does all life yearn for the truth and the truth 
only can cure our diseases and give peace to our un- 
rest. 27 

Truth is the essence of life, for truth endureth be- 
yond the death of the body. Truth is eternal and will 
still remain even though heaven and earth shall pass 
away. 28 

There are not many different truths in the world, 
for truth is one and the same at all times and in every 
place. 23 

Truth teaches us the noble eightfold path of right- 
eousness, and it is a straight path easily found by the 
truth loving. Happy are those who walk in it. 



232 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



C. THE PRAISE OF ALL THE BUDDHAS. 

All the Buddhas are wonderful and glorious. 

There is not their equal upon earth. 

They reveal to us the path of life. 

And we hail their appearance with pious reverence. l 

All the Buddhas teach the same truth. 

The Truth points out the way to those who have gone 

wrong. 
The Truth is our hope and comfort. 
We gratefully accept its illimitable light. 2 

All the Buddhas are one in essence, 
Which is omnipresent in all modes of being, 
Sanctifying the bonds that tie all souls together, 
And we rest in its bliss as our final refuge. 3 



\\ 






At 



TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 


SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






I-III 




E A 




Descent from 


{LV 1 


Klopstock's Messias 
Gesang I. 


heaven omitted 


\rGya, iii-v J 


IV 




Fo, vv. 1— 147 




IV, 


6 


B St, p. 64 


J Mark vii, 32, 37 
\ Matth. xi, 5 


IV, 


9 


Fo, vv. 22-24 


Matth. ii, 1 


IV, 


12 


Fo, vv. 39-40 


Luke ii, 36 


IV, 


17 


^^150; RHB 52 


Pseudo Matth. 23 


IV, 


27 


7^, v. 147 


Luke ii, 52 


Omitted 


RHB, pp. 103-108. 


Matth. ii, 16 


V 




HM,p. 156; RB, p. 
83; rGya, xii 








-F<9, z/z>. 152-156. . . . 


Luke ii, 46-47 


V, 


9 


iv, z\ 164 


Matth. iii, 16 


VI 




Fo, vv. 191-322 




VI, 


19-20 


{B St, pp. 79-80 1 

1*^,/.2 3 ...J 


Luke xi, 27-28 


VII 




i^, Z/7/. 335-417 




VII, 


7 


j9 St, p. 5-6 


f Matth xxiv, 35 


VII, 


18-19 


BSt, p. 18 


j Lukexxi, 33 
LLukexvi. 17 








VIII 




Fo, vv. 778-918 




VIII, 


15 


DP, v. 178 




IX 




Fo, vv. 919-1035 




IX, 


6 


M V, i, 6, §§ 36-38 
[SB, xiii, p. 100] 





234 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 


SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






IX, 14 


Q KM, pp. 83-86 . . 


Evolution theory 


IX, 15 


QKM,p.i 33 




IX, 16 


QKM, p. in 




X 


Fo, vv 1000-1023 




X, 11 


f Fo, v. 1024 \ 

[Fo, vv. 1222-1224. . j 


J Luke vii, 19 
\Matth. ii, 3 
{ Luke iv, 2 


XI 


Fo, vv. 1026-1110. . 


\ Matth. iv, 1-7 
I Mark i, 13 


[See LXXXIX, 1-6] 




XII 


Fo, 1111-1199 
r Q KM, p. 79 




XII, 8 


| SDF, vii [SB, xxi, 
I p. 172] 








SDF, iii [SB, xxi, 








p. 90] 




XII, 11-15 




MV, i,6, §§19-28 
Cf. Old, G, pp. 227- 
228, Old, F, p. 211 
RhD B, pp. 106-107 




XII, 16 


j B Si, pp. 103-104 
\Ci.DF, pp. 153-154 




XII, 20 


>-£><*. 355 


Matth. v, 3-11 


XIII 


J/ F, i, 4 




XIV 


^ r, i, 5 




XIV, 2 


MV,\, 3, §4 




XV 


Ji^?, z>z>. 1200-12 17 




\MV,\, 6, §§19 




XVI 


r^<?, 1217-1279 

W^ i. 6, §§10-47 




XVI, 5 


S N, v. 248 




XVI, 6 


RhD B,p. 131 




XVI, 7 


•SW, z/. 241 


Matth. xv, 10 


XVII 


M V, i, 6, § 10-47 




XVII, 10-12 


Satnyuttaka NikAya, 
volume iii, fol. sa, 
quoted by Old, G, 








364; Old, F,p.3$g 





TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



235 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 


SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






XVIII 


(MV.i, 7, 8,9 1 

{Fo, vv. 1 280- 1 296. . J 


John iii, 2 


XVIII, 8 


Fo, vv. 1289-1290 




XVIII, IO 


Fo, v. 1292 

(Mr, i, 11 




XIX 


[Fo, vv, 1297-1300. . 


J Luke ix, 1-6 
[Luke x, 1-24 


XIX, 


J Q KM, p. 264 


Matth. v, 16 


[QKM.p. 266 


Matth. vii, 6 


XX 


jFo, 1 300-1334 
\MV, i, 20-21 
[Fo, 1335-1379 




XXI 


\MV, i, 22 
SN, v. 148. 
Metta Sutra. [An 
often quoted sen- 




XXI, 19-20 


tence. RhDB, p. 
109, Hardy, " Le- 
gends and Theo- 
ries of the Bud- 
dhas,"/. 212. 




XXI, 23 


RhDB, p. 62 




XXI, 28 


Fo, v. 1733 




XXII 


[Fo, 1380-1381 
\MV, i, 22, §§15-18 




XXIII 


[Fo, vv. 1382-1431 
\MV, i, 23-24 


r Matth. xxi, 9 


XXIII, 3-5 


M V, i, 23, §§ 13-14 


\ Mark xi, 9 
I John xii, 13 


XXIV 


MV, i, 23 § 5-7 




XXV 


^, 1432-1495 




XXV, 10-20 


FA, 




XXVI 


Fo, vv. 1496-152 1 




XXVI, 4 


Fo, 1516-1517 


Acts xx, 35 


XXVII 


[Fo, vv. 1534-1610 
\HM, p. 204 





236 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



THE GOSPEL OF 
BUDDHA 

CHAPTER AND VERSE 



SOURCES 



PARALLELISMS 



XXVIII 
XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 

XXXII 
XXXIII 

XXXIV 

XXXIV, 19-11 
XXXV 



XXXV, 24 

[Last part of the verse.] 

XXXVI 
XXXVII 

XXXVIII 
XXXIX 
XXXIX, 3 
XXXIX, 5 



XL 

XL, 4 
XL, 7 

XLI 



HM, p. 203 et seqq. 
B St, pp. 125-126 
M V, i. 54 . 
II M, 208-209 
Fo, vv. 1522-1533 
1611-1671 
MV, viii, 2^-^ [SB. 
xvii, //. 193-194] 
Fo, vv. 1672-1673 
HM, pp. 353-354 

S 42 S 

Fo, vv, 1757-1766. . 

BF,p. 153 

Fo, vv. 1762-1763. . 

Fo, vv. 1763 

MV. viii, 15. [SB, 
xvii, pp. 219-225.] 

Bgt, p. 211 

mv, a 

MV, x, 1, 2 §1-2 and 

end of 2 § 20 
MV,x, 5-6; x, 2 §3-20 
MV, v, 4 
B St, p. 311 
MV, v, 4, 2. [SB. 

xvii, p. 18.] 

Fo, vv. 1713-1734 
HM, pp. 337-340 
i? 6"/, p. 200 
jOP,^ 227; SBx,p. 

5 S(cl.C/iD,p.i22) 
MV, vi, 29. [i"^, 

xvii, //. 104-105] 



Matth. v, 28 

Eph. vi, 13-17 
Mark ix, 47 
Matth. v, 29 
Matth. xviii, 9 



Luke viii, ii 
Matth. xiii, 24-27 



Matth. v, 46-47 



Matth. xi, 16, 19 



TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



237 



THE GOSPEL OF 
BUDDHA 

CHAPTER AND VERSE 



SOURCES 



PARALLELISMS 



XLI, 12-13 
XLII 



XLIV 




XLV 




XL VI 




XLVII 




XL VII, 


23 


XL VIII 




XLVIII, 


36-37 


XLVIII, 


47 


XLVIII, 


50 



XLIX 

XLIX, 17 
L 



LI, 1-14 j 
LI. 31-35 J 
LI, 15-30 

LII 

LIII 



Metta Sutta 

SN, v. 148. [cf. 
RhDB, p. 109] 

RB, pp. 68-69. [cf. 
RhDB, p. 71 and 
Old, G, 376-378]. 

Bet. 212 



MV\ i, 56 
[ S42 S, 12-13 
\RhDB, p. 139 
S 42 S, 4 

S D P, x, xiii, xxvii 
SDR, xxiv, 22 [5i? 

xxi, /. 416] 
DP in SB, x 

DP, v. 5 

DP, v. 275 

^^ r > 3. 5^6 ; 12, 7- 

9 ; 8, 11. 
Tevijja Sntta in S B 

xi, />/. 157-203 
Tevijja S, i, 15. . . . 
Sigalovada Sutta in 

S S P, pp. 297-320 

[cf. A7; Z> j9, 143] 

y7/F, vi, 31, [SB, 

xvii, //>. 108-113 

E A [cf . (? ATJ/, pp. 

254-257] 
2i^ [cf. CBSp. 15 

and also /1/Kv] 
Compiled from HM 

pp.280 et seq., Fo 

2^.1682-1683, and 

QKM 



[Mark iii, 14 

[ Luke ix, 2 

J Matth. xiii, 3 et seq 

^ Mark iv, 3-20 



Matth. v, 44 
II Cor. xii, 7 



Matth. xv, 14 



2 3 8 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 


SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






LIII, 


18-23^ 


QKM, p. 120 




LIII, 


23^ 


QKM, p. 148 


John iii, 8 


LIII, 


26-27 


QKM, p. 67 




LIII, 


29-32 


Q KM, pp. 73-74 




LIII, 


47 


QKM, p. 63 




LIII, 


59 


Q KM, p. 83-86 




LIV, 


1-2 


Fo, vv. 1228, 1208. . 


Matth. v, 3-1 1 


LIV, 


3 


BrahmajAla Sutta, 




LIV, 


4 


quoted by Rh D, 

P-99 

QKM, p. 114 


Jjohn xvi, 16 
[Matth. xxiv, 23 


LIV, 


5 


Fo, v. 1 23 1 




LIV, 


6-8 


rGya, p. 372 


Matth. xi, 28 


LIV, 


9 


S 42 S, 16 




LIV, 


10 


QKM, p. no 


[John xiv, 6 
[John xviii, 37 


LV 




SDP, v 




LVI 




Maha Rdhula Sutta 




LVII 




S 42 S 




LVIII 




Buddhist Catena 
' S N, pp. 58-62; /. 
25 ; /. 147 ; p. 54 
MV, i, 3, §4 [cf. 




LIX 




* 6>/< ^, /. 118] 
Nidhikanda Sutta, 
quoted by ^ Z)i?, 








* A 127 


Matth. vi, 20 


LX, 


7-8 


RhD B, p. 156 




LX, 


12 


Beal, Buddhism of 
China, chap, xii 




LX, 


18-23 


RhDB, p. 170 




LX, 


27-28 


EH 




LX, 


29 


QKM, p. 127 




LX, 


3* 


RhDB, pp. 175-176 




LX, 


33 


RhDB, p. 173 




LXI 




J//W, iii. 22 [5^ 
xx, /. 48-49] 





TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



239 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 




SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






LXI, 


3- 


-5 


Chullavagga ix, 1-4 
[SB xx, 301-305] 


Matth. v, 13 


LXI, 


6- 


9 


Sutra Dsanglun [cf. 
R. Seydel "Das 
Ev. v. Jesu in s. 
Verh. z. Buddha- 
Sage" M.1%4-1%5 


Matth. v, 1-2 


LXII 






EA 




LXIII 






S DP, hi 




LXIV 






DDE, v 




LXV 






SDE, iv 


Luke xv, 11 et seq. 


LXVI 






B St, pp. 2ii, 299 








[See.Pr.ii, 58] 




LXVII 






B St, pp. 315 et seq. 




LXVIII 






Ch D, pp. 88-89 




LXVIII, 


6 




ChD 


Mark xii, 42-44 
The Story of Dioge- 


LXIX 


CAD, p. 46 










nes and his Lan- 










tern 


LXX 






ChD, p. 134 




LXXI 






BgE,pp. 107 et seq. 




LXXII 






ChD, p. 77 


Luke xii, 20 


LXXIII 






B St, p. 147 




LXXIII, 


15 




B St 


Exodus xvii, 6 


LXXIV 


SJV, pp. 11-15 


J Matth. xiii, 3 et seq. 
\Mark iv, 14 


LXXV 






S N, pp. 20 et seq. 




LXXVI 






Bf, p. 205 


John v, 5 et seq. 


LXXVII 






HM, pp. 317-319 




LXXVIII 
LXXIX 




) 


Jataka Tales 




LXXX 






Bf, pp. 146 et seq. 




LXXXI 






Fu - Pen - Hing - tsi - 
King, tr. by S. Beal 




LXXXI, 


7" 


-10 


EA 


John ii, 1 et seq. 


LXXXII 






M V, i, 14 




LXXXIII 






ChD, p. 130 et seq. 





240 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 


SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






LXXXIII, 


5 


B P, p. 16 




LXXXIII, 


5. 6,9 


Ch D and S S 


Matth. xxii, 30 


LXXXIV, 


1-14 


B P, pp. 98 et seqq. 


Greek versions quot- 
ed by Jacob H. 
Thiesen, L K G. 


LXXXIV, 


15-28 


SB, x, p. 106 




LXXXV 




Ch D, pp. 50-51 


Matth. v, 25, 29 


LXXXV, 


6 


ChD 


Rom. iii, 28 


LXXXVI 




Ch D, pp. 94-98 




LXXXVII 




MPN, i [SB, xi.p. 
i et seqq. ] 




LXXXVIII 




MP N, ii, 4 and pas- 
sim 




LXXXIX 




[MPN, i, 19, 22 
\MV, vi, 28 




XC 




MPN, i, 16 




XCI 




MPN, ii, 9 




XCI, 


6 


MPN 


I Cor. 15, 55 




(MPN, ii, 12-24 


XCII 




j Fo, vv. 1749-1753 ; 
I 1768-1782. 




XCIII 




MPN, ii, 27-35 




XCIV, 


i-3 


B St, p. 84 


Luke iv, 5-8 [See 
also Matth. iv, 1-7 
and Mark i, 13] 


XCIV, 


4-7 


S N, vv. 425, 439 . . 


Luke iv, 2-4 


XCIV, 


8 


SN, v 445 


John iii, 46 


XCIV, 


9-22 


MPN, iii, 43-63 




xcv 




MPN, iv, 14-57 




xcv, 


6 


MPN, iv, 25 


John xix, 28 


xcv, 


14-22 


MPN, iv, 47-52 . . 


Matth. xvii, 2 
Mark ix, 2 


XCVI 




MPN, v, 1-14, con- 
cerning Maitreya 








see ii // J. v. Rh 


John xiv, 26 






D B, pp. 180, 200; 








Old, G,p. 153, etc. 





TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



2 4 I 



THE GOSPEL OF 






BUDDHA 




SOURCES 


PARALLELISMS 


CHAPTER AND VERSE 






XCVII 






MP N,v, 52-69, and 
vi ; Fo, vv. 2303- 
2310 




XCVII, 


19- 


-20 1 


Mahatanhdsakham- 




XCVII, 


23- 


-24 J 


ya-Sutta, Majjhi- 
ma Nikdya, vol. i, 
/. 263, quoted by 
Old, G, p. 349, E, 
P- 325 




XCVII, 


22 




Suttavibhanga, Pd- 
r&jika i, pp. 1, 4, 
quoted by Old, G, 
p. 349, E, p. 325. 


I Cor. xv, 20 


XCVIII 






EA, embodying later 
traditions see E H 
and almost any 
other work onBud- 
dhism 


The Christian Trin- 






ity dogma. 


XCIX 






EA 




c 






E A, in imitation of 
a formula at pres- 
ent in use among 
Northern Bud- 
dhists. 





ABBREVIATIONS IN THE TABLE OF REFERENCE. 



Bf.— Burnouf, Introduction a l'histoire du Bouddhisme Indien, Paris, 1844. 
Bgt. — The Life or Legend of Gautama, by the R. Rev. P. Bigandet, Second 

Edition, Rangoon, 1886 
BR— Buddhaghosha's Parables. Translated by T. Rogers, London, 1870. 
BSt.— Buddhist Birth Stories or Jataka Tales. Translated by Rhys Davids, 

London, 1880. 
CBS. — A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese by Samuel Beal 

London, 1871. 



242 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

ChD. — [Chinese Dhammapada.] Texts from the Buddhist Canon, commonly 
known as Dhammapada. Translated by S. Beal, London and Boston, 1878. 

DP.— The Dhammapada. Translated from Pali by F. Max Muller, Vol. X, 
Part I, of the Sacred Books of the East. Oxford, 1881. 

E A. — Explanatory Addition. 

EH. — Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, by Ernest J. Eitel. London, 1888. 

Fo. — The Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King. A Life of Buddha by A-rvaghosha, trans- 
lated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharmaraksha, A. D. 420, and from 
Chinese into English by Samuel Beal. Vol. XIX of the Sacred Books of 
the East. Oxford, 1883. 

HM. — A Manual of Buddhism, by R. Spence Hardy. Second Edition. Lon- 
don, 1880. 

LKG. — Die Legende von KisSgotami, by Jakob H. Thiessen. Breslau, 1G80. 

L V. — Lalita Vistara, translated into German by Dr. S. Lefmann. Berlin, 1874. 

MPN. — The Mahaparinibbana Suttanta. The Book of the Great Decease. 
Vol. XI of the Sacred Books of the East. Oxford, 1881. 

M V.— The Mahavagga. I-IV in Vol. XIII ; V-X in Vol. XVII of the Sacred 
Books of the East. Oxford, 1881-1882. 

M V.— Outlines of the MahSySna as Taught by Buddha, by S. Kuroda. Tokyo, 
Japan, 1893. 

Old G.— German Edition, Buddha, sein Leben, seine Lehre und seine Ge- 
meinde, by H. Oldenberg. Second Edition. Berlin, 1890. 

OldE.— English translation, Buddha, His Life, His Doctrine, and His Order 
by H. Oldenberg. London, 1882. 

PT. — Pantschatantra, translated into German by Theodor Benfey. Two vols. 
Leipsic, 1859. 

QKM.— The Questions of King Milinda, translated from Pfili by T. W. Rhys 
Davids, Vol. XXXV of the Sacred Books of the East. Oxford, 1890. 

RB.— The Life of the Buddha from Thibetan Works, translated by W. W. 
Rockhill. London, 1884. 

rGya. — rGya Tehee Roll Pa, Histoire du Bouddha Sakya Mouni, by Foucaux. 
Paris, 1868. 

RHB. — The Romantic History of Buddha from the Chinese Sanskrit, by S. 
Beal. London, 1875. 

Rk D B.— Buddhism, by T. W. Rhys Davids, in the Series of Non-Christian 
Religious Systems. London, 1890. 

S42S. — Sutra of Forty-two Sections. Kyoto, Japan. 

SB. — Sacred Books of the East. 

SN.— Sutta Nipata, translated from the Paii by V. Fausboll. Part II, Vol. X, 
of the Sacred Books of the East. Oxford, 1881. 

SS.—A Brief Account of Shin-Shiu, by R. Akamatsu. Kyoto, Japan, 1893. 

SSP.— Sept Suttas Palis, by M. P. Grimblot. Paris, 1876. 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 



[In the text of the present booklet all unnecessary terms have been 
avoided. Whenever a good English equivalent could be found, the foreign 
expression has been dropped. Nevertheless, the introduction not only of 
many foreign-sounding names, but also of some of the original terms, was un- 
avoidable. 

Now we have to state that the Eastern people, at least those of Hindu 
culture during the golden age of Buddhism in India, adopted the habit of 
translating not only terms but also names. A German whose name is Schmied 
is not called Smith in English, but Buddhists, when translating from Pali into 
Sanskrit, change Siddhattha into SiddhSrtha. The reason of this strange 
custom lies in the fact that Buddhists originally employed the popular speech 
and did not adopt the use of Sanskrit until about five hundred years after 
Buddha. Since the most important names and terms, such as Siddhartha, 
Nirvana, and Dharma, have become familiar to us in their Sanskrit form, 
while their Pali equivalents, Siddhattha, Nibbana, and Dhamma, are little 
used, it appeared advisable to prefer the Sanskrit forms, and this principle has 
been carried out in "The Gospel of Buddha ," with as much consistency as pos- 
sible. However, as there are instances in which the Pali, for some reason or 
other, has been preferred by English authors [e. g. Krisha Gautami is always 
called Kisa Gotami], we present here in the Glossary both the Sanskrit and 
the Pali forms. 

Names which have been Anglicised, such as "Brahma, Brahman, Bena- 
res, Jain, and karma," have been preserved in their accepted form. If we 
adopt the rule of transferring Sanskrit and Pali words in their stem-form, as 
we do in most cases (e. g. Nirvana, Stman), we ought to call Brahma " Brah- 
man," and karma " karman." But usus est tyrannus. In a popular book it is 
not wise to swim against the stream. 

Following the common English usage of saying "Christ," not "the 
Christ," we say " Buddha," " Bodhisattva," not " the Buddha," " the Bodhi- 
sattva."] 

Abhi'jna, ski., Abhi'nna, p., supernatural talent. There are six 
abhijiias which Buddha acquired when attaining perfect en- 
lightenment : — (i) the celestial eye, or an intuitive insight of 
the nature of any object in any universe ; (2) the celestial ear, 
or the ability to understand any sound produced in any uni- 
verse ; (3) the power of assuming any shape or form ; (4) 
knowledge of all forms of pre-existence of one's self and others; 



244 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

(5) intuitive knowledge of the minds of all beings ; and (6) 
knowledge of the finality of the stream of life. — 154, 155. 

Achira'vati, skt. and/., a river. — 81. 

Ajatasha'tru, skt., Ajatasa'ttu, p., the son of king Bimbisara and 
his successor to the throne of Magadha. — 95, 97. 

Ajna'ta, skt., Anna'ta, p., literally "knowing," a cognomen of 
Kaundinna, the first disciple of Buddha. — 44. 

Ambapa'li, the courtesan, called " Lady Amra " in Fo-Sho-Hing- 
Tsan-King. It is difficult for us to form a proper conception 
of the social position of courtesans at Buddha's time in India. 
This much is sure, that they were not common prostitutes, but 
ladies of wealth, possessing great influence. Their education 
was similar to the hetairse in Greece, where Aspasia played so 
prominent a part. Their rank must sometimes have been like 
that of Madame Pompadour in France at the court of Louis 
XIV. They rose to prominence, not by birth, but by beauty, 
education, refinement, and other purely personal accomplish- 
ments, and many of them were installed by royal favor. The 
first paragraphs of Khandhaka VIII of the Mahavagga [S. B., 
Vol. XVII, pp. 171-172] gives a fair idea of the important role 
of courtesans in those days. They were not necessarily venal 
daughters of lust, but, often women of distinction and repute, 
worldly, but not disrespectable.— 201, 202, 203, 204. 

Amita'bha, skt. and/., endowed with boundless light, from amita, 
infinite, immeasurable, and dbhd, ray of light, splendor, the bliss 
of enlightenment. It is a term of later Buddhism and has been 
personified as Amitabha Buddha, or Amita. The invocation 
of the all-saving name of Amitabha Buddha is a favorite tenet 
of the Lotus or Pure Land sect, so popular in China and Japan. 
Their poetical conception of a paradise in the West is re- 
ferred to in Chapter LX. Southern Buddhism knows nothing 
of a personified Amitabha, and the Chinese travellers Fa-hien 
and Hiuen-tsang do not mention it. The oldest allusion to 
Amita is found in the Amit&yus Sfltra, translated A. D. 148- 
170. [See Eitel, Handbook, pp. 7-9.] — 150, 151, 152, 153. 

Ana'nda, skt. and p., Buddha's cousin and his favorite disciple. 
The Buddhistic St. John (Johannes). — 69, 70, 76, 100, 168, 169, 
174, 175, 192, 199, 200, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 
214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222. 

Anathapi'ndika, skt. and /., (also called Anathapi'ndada in skt.) 
literally "One who gives alms (pinda) to the unprotected or 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 



! 45 



needy (and tk a)." Eitel's etymology " one who gives without 
keeping (anatha) a mouthful (pinda) for himself " is not tenable. 
A wealthy lay devotee famous for his liberality and donor of 
the Jetavana vihara. — 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 70, 71, 146. 

Annabha'ra, ski. and/., literally "he who brings food"; name of 
Sumana's slave. — 167, 168. 

Anuru'ddha, a prominent disciple of Buddha, known as the great 
master of Buddhist metaphysics. He was a cousin of Buddha, 
being the second son of Amritodana, a brother of Shuddho- 
dana. — 69, 222, 225. 

Ara'da, skt., Ala'ra, p., a prominent Brahman philosopher. His 
full name is Arada Kalama. — 22, 23, 213. 

Ar'hant, skt., A'rahat, p., a saint. (See also Saint in Index.) — 82. 

A'shvajit, skt., A'ssaji, p., one of Buddha's disciples by whose dig- 
nified demeanor Shariputra is converted. — 58. 

A'sita, skt. and/., a prophet. — 8, 9. 

A'tman, skt. and/., breath as the principle of life, the soul, self, 
the ego. To some of the old Brahman schools the atman con- 
stitutes a metaphysical being in man, which is the thinker of 
his thoughts, the perceiver of his sensations, and the doer 
of his doings. Buddha denies the existence of an atman in 
this sense. — 22, 24, 26, 134. 

Bala'ni, or pancha-balani, skt. and p., (the singular is bala, power), 
the five moral powers (also called pancha-indriyani), which 
are : Faith, energy, memory or recollection, meditation or 
contemplation, and wisdom or intuition. 

Bena'res, the well-known city in India ; Anglicised form of Vara'- 
nasi, skt., and Bara'nasi, /. (See also Kashi.) — 37, 48, 90, 91, 

93- 94- 

Bha'gavant, skt., Bha'gavat, /., the man of merit, worshipful, the 
Blessed One. A title of honor given to Buddha. — 17, 174. 

Bha'llika, skt. and p., a merchant. — 34, 35. 

Bharadva'ja, skt. and/., name of a Brahman. — 117, 119, 173. 

Bha'vana, /., meditation. There are five principal meditations: 
metta-bhavana, on love; karuna-bhavana, on pity; mudita- 
bhavana, on joy; asubha-bhavana, on impunity; and upeksha- 
bhavana, on serenity. [See Rhys Davids's Buddhism, pp. 170- 

171]— 153- 
Bhi'kshu, skt., bhi'kkhu, /., mendicant, monk, friar; the five 
bhikshus, 27, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 49, 57, 59, 66, 75, 76, 
77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 94, 95, 98, 100, 101, 



246 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

104 ; bhikshus doffed their robes, 80 ; bhikshus rebuked, 94 ; 
bhikshus prospered, 100 ; the sick bhikshu, igo, 191. 

Bhi'kshuni, skt., bhi'kkhuni, p., nun. — 81. 

Bimbisa'ra, skt. and/., the king of Magadha ; often honored with 
the cognomen "Sai'nya," skt., or "Se'niya, " /., i. e. "the 
warlike or military." — 19, 20, 54, 76, 97. 

Bo'dhi, skt. and/., knowledge, wisdom, enlightenment. 

Bodhi-a'nga or Bojjha'nga, or Sa'tta Bojjha'nga, p., meditation 
on the seven kinds of wisdom, which are : — energy, recollec- 
tion, contemplation, investigation of scripture, joy, repose, and 
serenity. — 82, 198. 

Bodhisa'ttva, skt., Bodhisa'tta, p., he whose essence (sattva) is be- 
coming enlightenment (bodhi). The term denotes (1) one who 
is about to become a Buddha, but has not as yet attained Nir- 
vana ; (2) a class of saints who have only once more to be born 
again to enter into Nirvana ; (3) in later Buddhism any preacher 
or religious teacher. — 17, 19, 21-23, 26-31, 68 ; appearance of, 
19; Boddhisattvas, no. 

Bodhi-tree, a tree of the species Jicus religiosa. — 29. 

Bra'hma, Anglicised form of skt. stem-form Brahman (nom. s. 
Brahmd). The chief God of Brahmanism, the world-soul. See 
also Sahampati. — 35, 36, 69, 120-121 ; Brahma, a union with, 
120 ; Brahma, face to face, 118 ; Brahma's mind, 120. 

Brahmada'tta, skt. and/., (etym. given by Brahma,) name of a 
mythical king of Kashi, skt., or Kasi, p. — 90, 91-94, 170, 178. 

Bra'hman, the priestly caste of the Indians. Anglicised form of 
Brdhmana {skt. and/.). Priests were selected from the Brah- 
man caste, but Brahmans were not necessarily priests ; they 
were farmers, merchants, and often high officials in the service 
of kings. Brahmans, the two — 117, J22. 

Buddha, skt. and p., the Awakened One, the Enlightened One. — 
Buddha is also called Shakyamuni (the Shakya sage), Shakya- 
simha (the Shakya Lion), Sugata (the Happy One), Satthar, 
nom. Sattha, /.; Shastar, skt., (the Teacher), Jina (the Con- 
queror), Bhagavat (the Blessed One), Loka-natha (the Lord of 
the World), Sarvajna (the Omniscient One), Dharma-raja (the 
King of Truth), Tathagata, etc. [See Rh. Davids's B. p. 28.] 
B., faith in the, 200 ; B., I am not the first, 217 ; B. not Gau- 
tama, 140; B., refuge in the, 46, 47, 52, 56, 104, 146, 182, 183, 
224, 230; B. remains, Gautama is gone, 220; B. replies to the 
deva, 146; B., the sower, 173; B., the teacher, in; B., the 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS, 247 

three personalities of, 225 ; B., the truth, 2, 217, 227 ; B., truly 
thou art, 123, 129; B. will arise, another, 218; B.'s birth, 7; 
B.'s death, 218; B.'s farewell address, 204; consolidation of 
B.'s religion, 75 ; Buddhas, the praise of all the, 232 ; Bud- 
dhas, the religion of all the, 56 ; Buddhas, the words of im- 
mutable, 15, 18. 

Cha'nna, skt. and/., prince Siddhartha's driver. — 12, 18, 19. 

Chu'nda, skt. and/., the smith of Pava. — 211, 214, 215. 

Dago'ba, modernised form of skt. Dhatu-ga'rbha, " relic shrine, " 
(also called Stupa in Northern Buddhism) a mausoleum, tower 
containing relics, a kenotaph. — 224, 225. 

Da'namati, skt. and/., name of a village. The word means "hav- 
ing a mind to give." — 131. 

De'va, skt. and/., any celestial spirit, a god especially of interme- 
diate rank, angel. — Deva, questions of the, 146; Buddha re- 
plies to the deva, 146 ; Devas, 22, 40, 43, 57. 

Devada'tta (etym. god-given) brother of Yashodhara and Buddha's 
brother-in-law. He tried to found a sect of his own with se- 
verer rules than those prescribed by Buddha. He is described 
undoubtedly with great injustice in the Buddhist canon and 
treated as a traitor. [About his sect see Rh. Davids's B. p. 
181-182.] — 69-70, 95-97, 191. 

Devapu'tra, skt., Devapu'tta, /., (etym. Son of a God) one of Bud- 
dha's disciples. — 223. 

Dha'rma, skt., Dha'mma, /., originally the natural condition of 
things or beings, the law of their existence, truth, then reli- 
gious truth, the law, the ethical code of righteousness, the 
whole body of religious doctrines as a system, religion. — 31, 
33> 35> 48- 49. 5 2 > 56, 62, 67, 146, 148, 149, 158 ; let a man 
take pleasure in the dharma, 149 ; the goodness of the dharma, 
114. 

Dharmaka'ya, skt., the body of the law. — 227. 

Dharmapa'da, skt., Dhammapa'da, /. — in. 

Dharmara'ja, skt., Dhammara'ja, /., the king of truth. — 72, no. 

Dhya'na, skt., Jha'na, /., intuition, beatic vision, ecstasy, rapture, 
the result of samadhi. Buddha did not recommend trances 
as means of religious devotion, urging that deliverance can be 
obtained only by the recognition of the four noble truths and 
walking on the noble eightfold path, but he did not disturb 
those who took delight in ecstasies and beatific visions. Bud- 
dha's interpretation of the Dhyana is not losing consciousness 



248 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

but a self-possessed and purposive eradication of egotism. 

! There are four Dhyanas, the first being a state of joy and glad- 
ness born of seclusion full of investigation and reflexion ; the 
second one, born of deep tranquillity without reflexion or in- 
vestigation, the third one brings the destruction of passion, 
while the fourth one consists in pure equanimity, making an 
end of sorrow. [See Rhys Davids's B. pp. 175-176.] In the 
Fo-Sho-hing-tsan-king, the Dhyana is mentioned twice only : 
first, III, 12, vv. 960-978, where Arada sets forth the doctrine 
of the four Dhyanas which is not approved of by Buddha, and 
secondly, at Buddha's death ; when losing consciousness, his 
mind is said to have passed through all the Dhyanas. — 155. 

Dirgha'yu, skt. , Digha'vu, p., the etymology of the word is "live- 
long. " Name of a mythical prince, son of king Dirgheti. — 90-94. 

Dirghe'ti, skt., Dighi'ti, p., literally "suffer-long." Name of a 
mythical king, father of prince Digha'vu. — 90, 91, 93. 

Ga'ya Kashyapa, brother of the great Kashyapa of Uruvilva. — 52. 

Ganges, the well known river of India. — 11, 196. 

Gau'tama, skt., Go'tama, /., Buddha's family name. — 7, 38, 227; 
Gautama denies the existence of the soul, 130; Gautama is 
gone, Buddha remains, 220 ; Buddha not Gautama, 149; Gau- 
tama the shramana, 219 ; Gautama Siddhartha, 95, 217, 225. 

Gau'tami, name of any woman belonging to the Gautama family. 
Krisha Gautami, 14, 186, 187. 

Gava'mpati, skt., Gava'mpati, p., literally "lord of cows," a friend 
of Yashas. — 48. 

Hinaya'na, the small vehicle, viz., of salvation. A name invented 
by Northern Buddhists, in contradistinction to Mahayana, to 
designate the spirit of Southern Buddhism. The term is not 
used among Southern Buddhists. — Pp. ix-x. 

Hir'anyavati, skt., Hira'nnavati, p., a river. — 215. 

Ikshva'ku, skt., Okka'ka, /., the name of a mythological family 
from which the chiefs of the Shakyas claim descent. — 7. 

Indra, one of the principal Brahman gods. — 120, 177. 

Indriya'ni or pancha-indriyani, the five organs of the spiritual sense. 
(SeeBalani.) 

f'shvara, skt., I'ssara, p., (lit. independent existence) Lord, Crea- 
tor, personal God, a title given to Shiva and other great dei- 
ties. In Buddhistic scriptures the skt. Ishvara (not the/. 
Issara) means always a transcendent or extramundane God, a 
personal God, a deity distinct from, and independent of nature, 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 249 

who is supposed to have created the world out of nothing. — 
6o, 61. 

Jain, modernised form of ski. Jaina ; an adherent of the Jain-sect 
which reveres Vardhamana (Jnataputra) as Buddha. (See Jain- 
ism.)— 37. 

Jainism, a sect, founded by Vardhamana, older than Buddhism and 
still extant in India. It is in many respects similar to Bud- 
dhism. Buddha's main objection to the Jains was the habit of 
their ascetics of going naked. The Jains lay great stress upon 
ascetic exercises and self-mortification which the Buddhists 
declare to be injurious. 

Ja'mbu, skt. and/., a tree. — 14, 28. 

Jambu'nada, skt., Jambu'nada, /., a town of unknown site. (Also 
the name of a mountain and of a lake.) — 180. 

Ja'tila, /., "wearing matted hair." The Jatilas were Brahman 
ascetics. Buddha converted a tribe of them, and Kashyapa, 
their chief, became one of his most prominent disciples. — 49, 53 

Ji'na, the Conqueror, an honorary title of Buddha. The Jains use 
the term with preference as an appellative of Vardhamana 
whom they revere as their Buddha. — 38. 

Ji'vaka, skt. and/., physician to king Bimbisara. According to 
tradition he was the son of king Bimbisara and the courtesan 
Salavati. We read in Mahavagga VIII that after his birth he 
was exposed but saved ; then he became a most famous physi- 
cian and cured Buddha of a troublesome disease contracted by 
wearing cast off rags. He was an ardent disciple of Buddha 
and prevailed upon him to allow the bhikshus to wear lay 
robes. — 75, 76. 

Je'ta, the heir apparent to the kingdom of Shravasti. — 70, 71. 

Je'tavana, a vihara. — 70-72, 146, 169, 174, 185. 

Jnatapu'tra, skt., Natapu'tta, Jain Prakrit, the son of Jnata. Pa- 
tronym of Vardhamana, the founder of Jainism. — 124. 

Jyo'tishka, skt. , name of a householder, son of Subhadra. — 99, 
100. 

Kala'ma, skt. , and/., (see Arada). 

Ka'nthaka, prince Siddhartha's horse. — 18, 19. 

Kapilava'stu, skt. , Kapilava'tthu, /. , the capital of the Shakyas, 
the birthplace of Buddha. — 7, 10, 64, 69, 71. 

Ka'rma, anglicised form of skt. stem-form ka'rman (nom. s. karma), 
the/, of which is ka'mmam. Action, work, the law of action, 
retribution, results of deeds previously done and the destiny 



25O THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

resulting therefrom. Eitel defines karma as " that moral kernel 
[of any being] which alone survives death and continues in 
transmigration. " Karma is a well-defined and scientifically exact 
term. Professor Huxley says, " In the theory of evolution, the 
tendency of a germ to develop according to a certain specific 
type, e. g. , of the kidney bean seed to grow into a plant having 
all the characters of Phaseolus vulgaris is its ' karma.' It is 
' the last inheritor and the last result ' of all the conditions that 
have affected a line of ancestry which goes back for many mil- 
lions of years to the time when life first appeared on earth." 
We read in the Anguttara Nikaya, Pancaka Nipata : " My ac- 
tion (karma) is my possession, my action is my inheritance, 
my action is the womb which bears me, my action is the race 
to which I am akin [as the kidney-bean to its species] , my ac- 
tion is my refuge." [See the article " Karma and Nirvana " 
in The Monist, Vol. IV, No. 3, pp. 417-439.] — 22, 25, 26, 68, 
72, 96, 98, 132, 137, 151, 199, 215. 

Ka'shyapa, skt., Ka'ssapa, /. (the etymology "He who swallowed 
fire," is now rejected), a name of three brothers, chiefs of the 
Jatilas, called after their residences, Uruvilva, Nadi, and Gaya. 
The name Kashyapa applies mainly to Kashyapa of Uruvilva, 
who is also called Maha-Kashyapa, for he was one of the great 
pillars of the Buddhistic brotherhood. He took at once, after 
his conversion, a most prominent rank among Buddha's disci- 
ples. After Buddha's death, it is said, he convened the first 
synod and acted as chairman. He is mentioned as the first 
compiler of the canon and called the first patriarch. — 49-53, 
100, 141-142, 227. 

Ka'shi, skt., Ka'si, p., the old and holy name of Benares. — 90 et 
seq., 170. 

Kaundi'nya, skt., Kond'anna, p., name of Buddha's first disciple, 
afterwards called Ajna/ta Kaundi'nya in skt. and Anna'ta Kon- 
da'nnain/. — 42, 44. 

Kausha'mbi, skt., Kosa'mbi, p., a city. — 85, 88, 89, 165. 

Kle'sha, skt. , Kile'sa, p., error. 

Ko'li, a little kingdom in the neighborhood of Kapilavastu, the 
home of Yashodhara. — 11. 

Ko'sala, skt. and/., name of a country. — 63, 64, 91, 117. 

Kri'sha Gau'tami, skt., Ki'sa Go'tami, p., the slim or thin Gautami. 
Name (1) of a cousin of Buddha, mentioned in Chap. VI, p. 14 ; 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 251 

(2) of the heroine in the parable of the mustard seed. — 14, 
186, 187. 

Krishna, one of the most prominent Brahman gods. — 49. 

Kushina'gara, skt., Kusina'ra, p., name of a town. — 212, 213, 215, 
222, 223. 

Kutada'nta, a Brahman chief in the village Danamati ; is men- 
tioned in Sp. Hardy's M. B., p. 289, and in S. B. E., Vol. 
XIX, p. 242 [Fo, v. 1682] ; also called Khanumat. — 131, 140. 

Lu'mbim, skt., a grove named after a princess, its owner. — 7. 

Li'cchavi, skt. and/., the name of a princely family. — 202, 203. 

Ma'gadha, skt. and/., name of a country. — 53, 58, 59, 76, 97, 194, 
196. 

Ma'rga, skt. ma'gga p. , path ; especially used in the Pali phrase 
"Ariyo atthangiko maggo," the noble eightfold path, which 
consists of : right views, high aims, right speech, upright con- 
duct, a harmless livelihood, perseverance in well-doing, intel- 
lectual activity, and earnest thought. [See S. B. £., Vol. XI, 
pp. 63 and 147.] 

Mahara'ja, the great king. — 73. 

Mahase'tu, the great bridge. A name invented by the author of 
the present book to designate the importance of Christianity 
compared to the Hinayana and Mahayana of Buddhism. — 
ix, x. 

Mahaya'na, the great vehicle, viz., of salvation. Name of the 
Northern conception of Buddhism, comparing religion to a great 
ship in which men can cross the river of Samsara to reach the 
shore of Nirvana. — ix, x. 

Maitre'ya, skt. , Mette'ya,/., etymology, "full of kindness"; the 
name of the Buddha to come. — 215, 218. 

Ma'lla, skt. and p., name of a tribe. — 213, 215, 218, 222-224. 

Manasa'krita, skt. , Manasa'kata, p. , a village in Kosala. — 117, 118, 
120, 121. 

Manda'ra, skt. and p., a flower of great beauty. — 8. 

Ma' tali, skt. and p. .name of a demon in the retinue of Yama. — 177. 

Ma'ra, skt. and p., the Evil One, the tempter, the destroyer, the 
god of lust, sin, and death. — 8, 29, 30, 35, 74, no, in, 116, 
152, 182, 207, 208, 209. 

Mata'nga, skt. and p., literally, of low birth ; the Matanga caste 
comprises mongrels of the lowest with higher castes. — 174. 

Ma'thura, skt. and p., name of a place. — 179. 



252 m THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Maudgalya'yana, skt., Mogalla'na, p., one of the most prominent 
disciples of Buddha, a friend of Shariputra. — 58, 67. 

Ma'ya, skt. and /., delusion, magic, enchantment. The veil of 
Maya is the illusion of self which lies upon the eyes of the 
worldling who thus is unable to see things as they really are 
and misunderstands his relation to his fellow -creatures. — 6, 
178. 

Ma'ya, Buddha's mother. (See Maya-devi.) — 7, 77. 

Maya- de' vi, also called Maha-Maya, or simply Maya, skt. and/., 
the wife of Shuddhodana and mother of Buddha. She died 
in childbed, and Buddha ascends to heaven to preach to her 
the good law and the gospel of salvation. — 7, 77. 

Mu'ni, skt. and/., a thinker, a sage ; especially a religious thinker. 
Shakyamu'ni, the sage of the Shakyas, is Buddha. — 148, 150. 

Nadi' Ka'shyapa, skt., Nadi' Ka'ssapa, /., brother of the great 
Kashyapa of Uruvilva. — 52. 

Na'dika, skt. and/., name of a village. — 199. 

Na'ga, skt. and/., literally serpent. The serpent being regarded 
as a superior being, the word denotes a special kind of spiritual 
beings ; a sage, a man of spiritual insight ; any superior per- 
sonality. Naga kings, 8. 

Naira'njana, skt., Nera'njara, /., name of a river whose modern 
name is either Nilajan or Phalgu. — 207-208. 

Nala'nda, skt. and/., a village near Rajagriha. — 194-197. 

Na'nda, the daughter of a chief of shepherds. — 28, 29. 

Nida'na, skt. and/., cause. The twelve nidanas, forming the chain 
of causation which brings about the misery in the world. [See 
Oldenberg, Buddha, Engl, tr., pp. 224-252]. — 31. 

Nirgra'ntha, skt., Nigga'ntha, /., literally " liberated from bonds"; 
a name adopted by the adherents of the Jaina sect. — 124, 129 ; 
Nirgranthas, give also to the, 130. 

Nirma'na Ka'ya, skt., the body of transformation. — 227. 

Nirva'na, skt., Nibba'na, /., extinction, viz., the extinction of self ; 
according to the Hinayana it is defined as "extinction of illu- 
sion," according to the Mayayana as "attainment of truth." 
Nirvana means, according to the latter, enlightenment, the 
state of mind in which upadana, klesha, and trishna are extinct, 
the happy condition of enlightenment, peace of mind, bliss, 
the glory of righteousness in this life and beyond, the eternal 
rest of Buddha after death. Buddha himself has refused to 
decide the problem whether or not Nirvana is a final extinc- 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 253 

tion of personality. When questioned, he indicated by his si- 
lence that the solution is not one of those subjects a knowledge 
of which is indispensable for salvation. — 2, 6, 14, 16, 32, 33, 
35, 38, 40, 52, 53, 55, 58, 61, 64, 65, 77, 82, 99, 102, 104, 122, 
J 3 2 > *33. *4 2 < I 43. J 66, 197, 199, 211, 215, 224; where is Nir- 
vana ? 133 ; Nirvana not a locality, 134 ; the city of Nirvana, 
no; the harvest, Nirvana, 173 ; the one aim, Nirvana, 142: 
Samsara and Nirvana, 2, 6, 197. 

Nyagro'dha, skt., Nigro'dha, j). , a tree, Jicus indica well known for 
its air roots. — 208. 

Paramita', skt. and^. , perfection, or virtue. The six paramitas 
are : almsgiving, morality, patience, zeal or energy, medita- 
tion, and wisdom. 

Parivra'jaka, skt., Paribba'jaka, p., a sect belonging to the Tirthika 
school. — 83. 

Patalipu'tra, skt., Patalipu'tta, p., also called Pataligama, a city 
on the Ganges north of Rajagriha and belonging to the king- 
dom of Magadha, the frontier station against the Vriji (Vajji), 
the present Patna. Buddha is reported to have predicted the 
future greatness of the place, which is an important passage 
for determining the time in which the account of Buddha's 
sojourn in Pataliputra was written. It is still uncertain, how- 
ever, when Patna became the important centre which it is now. 
It was the capital of the country when Meyasthenes, the am- 
bassador of Selencus Nicator, at the end of the third century 
B. C, visited India. He gave in his book a detailed descrip- 
tion of the city. — 194, 195, 196; Pataliputra, three dangers hang 
over, 196. 

Paushkarasa'di, skt., Pokkharasa'di, p., a Brahman philosopher. — 
118. 

Pa'va, skt. and p. , a village where Buddha took his last meal con- 
sisting of boar's meat and rice. — 211. 

Praja'pati or Maha-Praja'pati, skt., Paja'pati, $., the sister of 
Maya-devi, second wife of Shuddhodana, aunt and foster- 
mother of Buddha. She is also called by her husband's family 
name Gautami (feminine form of Gautama). — 10, 69, 78, 89. 

Pra'kriti, skt. , name of a girl of low caste. — 174, 175. 

Pradyo'ta, skt. , Pajjo'ta, f. , name of a king of Ujjayini. — 76. 

Pratimo'ksha, skt., Patimo'kkha, £., (usually spelt Pratimoksha in 
Buddhistic Sanskrit,) literally, " disburdenment." It is the 
Buddhist confession. Rhys Davids says " that it almost cer- 



254- THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

tainly dates from the fifth century B. C. Since that time — 
during a period that is of nearly two thousand and three hun- 
dred years — it has been regularly repeated, twice in each month, 
in formal meetings of the stricter members of the Order. It 
occupies, therefore, a unique position in the literary history of 
the world ; and no rules for moral conduct have been for so 
long a time as these in constant practical use, except only 
those laid down in the Old Testament and in the works of Con- 
fucius" (p. 163). — 83-85. 

Prase'najit, skt., Pase'nadi, f. , (also called Pasenit) king of Kosala, 
residing at Shravasti. — 72. 

Pravra'jya, skt., pabba'jja, f. , the act of leaving the world for re- 
ceiving admittance to the Order. The first step of the Bud- 
dhist ordination. (See Upasa'mpada. ) 

Pu'kkasha or Pu'kkasa, skt., Pu'kkusa, p., name of a low caste. — 
213-214. 

Pu'nyajit, skt., Pu'nnaji, f., a friend of Yashas. — 48. 

Purvara'ma, skt., Pubbara'ma, p. , the Eastern garden. — 79. 

Ra'hula, skt. andj5., the son of Buddha, was admitted to the fra- 
ternity while still a boy. Buddha gave him a lesson in truth- 
fulness [see Chap. XLVI] . He is always named among the 
prominent disciples of Buddha and is revered as the patron 
saint of novices. — 11, 67, 69, 70, 143, 144, 145. 

Rainy season (see Varsha). — 49, 204. 

Ra'jan, skt. and p., nominative form of the stem rajan, a king (in 
composition raja). 

Rajagri'ha, skt. , Rajaga'ha, $., the capital of Magadha and resi- 
dence of king Bimbisara. — 19, 53, 57, 59, 64, 77, 83, 95, 99, 
J22, 193. 

Ra'tna, skt., ra'tana, p., "jewel." 

Ri'ddhi, skt., I'ddhi, p. , defined by Eitel as " the dominion of spirit 
over matter." It is the adjusting power to one's purpose and 
the adaptation to conditions. In popular belief it implies ex- 
emption from the law of gravitation and the power of assuming 
any shape at will. (See Riddhipada.) 

Riddhipa'da, skt., Iddhipa'da, p., the mode of attaining the power 
of mind over matter, four steps being needed : (1) the will to 
acquire it, (2) the necessary exertion, (3) the indispensable 
preparation of the heart, and (4) a diligent investigation of the 
truth. — 154, 156. 

Ri'shi, skt., i'si, -p. , a prophet or seer, an inspired poet, a hermit 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 255 

having acquired wisdom in saintly retirement, a recluse or 
anchorite. 

Saha'mpati, occurs only in the phrase "Brahma Sahampati," a 
name frequently used in Buddhist scriptures the meaning of 
which is obscure. Burnouf renders it Seigneur des etres pa- 
tients ; Eitel, Lord of the inhabitable parts of all universes ; 
H. Kern [in S. B., XXI, p. 5] maintains that it is synonymous 
with Sikhin, which is a common term for Agni. 

Sai'nya, skt., Se'niya, _/»., military, warlike, an honorary title given 
to Bimbisara the king of Magadha. — 53, 57, 83. 

Sama'dhi, skt. and^., trance, abstraction, self-control. Rhys Da- 
vids says {B. p. 177) : " Buddhism has not been able to escape 
from the natural results of the wonder with which abnormal 
nervous states have always been regarded during the infancy 
of science. . . . But it must be added, to its credit, that the 
most ancient Buddhism despises dreams and visions ; and that 
the doctrine of Samadhi is of small practical importance com- 
pared with the doctrine of the noble eightfold Path." Eitel 
says {Handbook, p. 140): "The term Samadhi is sometimes 
used ethically, when it designates moral self- deliverance from 
passion and vice." 

Sambho'ga Ka'ya, skt., the body of Bliss. — 227. 

Samyakpradha'na, skt., Sammappadha'na, p., right effort, exertion, 
struggle. There are four great efforts to overcome sin, which 
are : (1) Mastery over the passions so as to prevent bad quali- 
ties from rising ; (2) suppression of sinful thoughts to put away 
bad qualities which have arisen ; (3) meditation on the seven 
kinds of wisdom (Bodhi-anga) in order to produce goodness not 
previously existing, and (4) fixed attention or the exertion of 
preventing the mind from wandering, so as to increase the good- 
ness which exists. [See the Maha-padhana Sutta in the Digha 
Nikdya. Compare B. B. St., p. 89, and Rh. Davids's Bud- 
dhism, pp. 172-173.] 

Samsa'ra, skt. and p. , the ocean of birth and death, transiency, 
worldliness, the restlessness of a worldly life, the agitation of 
selfishness, the vanity fair of life. — 2, 6, 33, 197. 

Samska'ra, skt., sankha'ra, f>. , confection, conformation, disposi- 
tion. It is the formative element in the karma as it has taken 
shape in bodily existence. — 134, 137, 138. 

Sa'ngha, skt. and p., the brotherhood of Buddha's disciples, the 
Buddhist church. An assembly of at least four has the power 



256 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

to hear confession, to grant absolution, to admit persons to the 
priesthood, etc. The sangha forms the third constituent of 
the Triratna or three jewels in which refuge is taken (the S. B. 
of the E. spell Sawgha). — 43, 48, 52, 56, 69, 77, 81, 84-90, 
146 ; sangha may be expected to prosper, 194. 

Sa'njaya, skt. and^., a wandering ascetic and chief of that sect to 
which Shariputra and Maudgalyayana belonged before their 
conversion. — 58. 

Sha'kra, skt., Sa'kka, £., Lord ; a cognomen of Indra. — 57. 

Sha'kya, skt., Sa'kya, p., the name of a small tribe in the northern 
frontiers of Magadha. — 11, 20. 

Shakyamu'ni, skt., Sakyamu'ni, j>. , the Shakya sage; a cognomen 
of Buddha. — 20, 22, 26, 27, 29, 50, 51, 53, 59, 78, 100, 101, 120. 

Sha'la, skt. , Sa/la,^., a tree, vatica robusta ; shala-grove, 215, 218 ; 
shala-trees, 216. 

Sharipu'tra, skt,, Saripu'tta, -p., one of the principal disciples of 
Buddha; the Buddhistic St. Peter. — 58, 59, 64, 67, 70, 71, 89, 
100, 189, 197, 198 ; Shariputra's faith, 197. 

Smrityupastha'na, skt., Sati-pattha'na, p., meditation; explained 
as "fixing the attention." The four objects of earnest medi- 
tation are: (1) the impurity of the body, (2) the evils arising 
from sensation, (3) ideas or the impermanence of existence, and 
(4) reason and character, or the permanency of the dharma. 
(Rh. D. B., p. 172.) The term is different from "bhavana," 
although translated by the same English word. (S. B. of the 
E. XI, p. 62. — 211.) 

Shra'mana, skt., Sa'mana, f., an ascetic ; one who lives under the 
the vow, 30, 34, 50, 69, 78 ; the Shramana Gautama, 219 ; the 
vision of a shramana, 15. 

Shra'vaka, skt., Sa'vaka, p. , he who has heard the voice (viz. of 
Buddha), a pupil, a beginner. The name is used to designate 
(1) all personal disciples of Buddha, the foremost among whom 
are called Maha-shravakas, and (2) an elementary degree of 
saintship. A shravaka is he who is superficial yet in practice 
and comprehension, being compared to a hare crossing the 
stream of Samsara by swimming on the surface. [See Eitel 
Handbook, p. 157.] — 151, 152. 

Shrava'sti, skt., Sava'tthi, p., capital of Northern Kosala. It has 
been identified by General Cunningham with the ruins of 
Sahet-Mahet in Oudh and was situated on the river Rapti, 
northwest of Mcgadha.— 63, 71, 70, 82, 88, 89, 166, 174, 189. 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 257 

Shuddho'dana, skt. , Suddho'dana, ^., Buddha's father. Tradition 
made of Shuddhodana the king of the Shakyas, but we have to 
add that this does not appear in the oldest records. Oldenberg 
(in his Buddha, English version, p. 99, giving his arguments 
on pp. 416-417) speaks of him as " a great and wealthy land- 
owner." — 7, ii, 12, 19, 64, 65, 68, 77. 

Si'mha, skt., Si'ha, f. , literally, "lion." Name of a general, an 
adherent of the Nirgrantha sect, converted by Buddha, 124- 
126, 128-130 ; Simha, a soldier, 126 ; Simha's question concern- 
ing annihilation, 124. 

Siddha'rtha, skt., Siddha'ttha, f., Buddha's proper name. Ety- 
mology " He who has reached his goal." — 9-19, 29, 64-70, 140. 

Ska'ndha, skt., Kha'ndha, p., elements ; attributes of being, which 
are form, sensation, perception, discrimination, and conscious- 
ness. — 24. 

So'ma, skt. and f. , derived from the root su, to press in a wine- 
press ; not as, according to Eitel, Chinese scholars propose 
from "exhilarate {su) and mind (maud).'" Name of a plant 
and of its juice, which is intoxicating and is used at Brahman- 
ical festivals ; the Soma drink is identified with the moon and 
personified as a deity. — 120. 

Sriga'la, skt., Siga'la. p., literally, "jackal"; name of a Brahman 
converted by Buddha. — 122, 123. 

Suba'hu, skt. and^., a friend of Yashas. — 48. 

Subha'dra, skt., Subha'dda, j>., name of a shramana. Subha'dra, 
Buddha's last convert, must not be confounded with another 
man of the same name who caused dissension soon after 
Buddha's death. — 99, 218-220. 

Su'mana. skt. andj^. , name of a householder. — 167. 

Su'tra, skt., Su'tta, p., literally " thread," any essay, or guide of a 
religious character. 

Tapu'ssa, skt. and/., a merchant. — 34, 35. 

Taru'kshya, skt., Taru'ccha, f. , name of a Brahman philosopher. 

Tatha'gata, skt. and^., generally explained as "the Perfect One." 
The highest attribute of Buddha, 17, 38, 39, 43-45, 51, 53, 56- 
59, 62, 64, 67, 69, 70, 74, 78, 80, 82, 83, 96, 97, 100, 101, 107- 
iii, 116, 159; robe of the Tathagata, 107; soldiers of the Ta- 
thagata, no ; the law the body of the Tathagata, 225 ; Tatha- 
gatas are only preachers, in. 

Ti'rthika, skt., Ti'tthiya, j>., a religious school of India in Buddha's 
time. — 83. 



258 THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 

Trika'ya, the three bodies of personalities of Buddha, the Dharma- 
kaya, the Sambhoga-kaya, and the Nirmana-kaya. — 227. 

Trira'tna, the three jewels or the holy trinity of the Buddha, the 
Dharma, and the Sangha, a doctrine peculiar to Northern 
Buddhism. (See Trikaya.) 

Tri'shna, skt., ta'nha, /., thirst, the egotistical desire of existence, 
selfishness. — 30, 116. 

U'draka, skt., a Brahman philosopher. — 22, 25. 

Ujja'yini, skt., Ujje'ni, /., name of a city. — 76. 

Upada'na, skt. and/., desire, a grasping state of mind. One of 
the nidanas. 

Upagu'pta, skt., name of a Buddhist monk. — 179. 

Upa'li, a prominent disciple of Buddha. Before his conversion he 
was, according to the Buddhistic tradition, court-barber to the 
king of the Shakyas. — 69, 89, 225. 

Upasa'mpada, skt. and/., admittance to the Buddhist brotherhood, 
ordination. (See Pravrajya.) 

Upava'rtana, skt., Upava'ttana, p., a grove in Kushinagara. The 
word means a rambling-place, a gymnasium. — 215, 218. 

U'paka, skt. and/., name of a man, a Jain, who met Buddha but 
was not converted by him — 37, 38 

Upava'satha, skt., Upo'satha, /., the Buddhist sabbath. Rhys 
Davids says (pp. 140-141): " The Uposatha days are the four 
days in the lunar month when the moon is full, or new, or half 
way between the two. It is the fourteenth day from the new 
moon (in short months) and the fifteenth day from the full 
moon (in the long months), and the eighth day from each of 
these. The corresponding Sanskrit word is Upavasatha, the 
fast-day previous to the offering of the intoxicating soma, con- 
nected with the worship of the moon. Instead of worshipping 
the moon, the Buddhists were to keep the fast-day by special 
observance of the moral precepts ; one of many instances in 
which Gautama spiritualised existing words and customs." — 
83, 84, 87 ; observe the Upavasatha or Sabbath, 105. 

Uruvi'lva, skt., Uruve'la, p., a place south of Patna on the banks of 
the Neranjara river, now Buddha Gaya. The residence of 
Kashyapa, the chief of the Jatilas. — 27, 49, 50, 52, 182. 

Vaisha'li, skt., Vesa'li, -p., a great city of India, north of Patna. — 
193, 201-204, 210. 

Va'rana, skt. and/., a tree ; Crataeva Roxburghii. — 162, 163. 

Vardhama'na, skt., Vaddhama'na, Jaina Prakrit, proper name; 



GLOSSARY OF NAMES AND TERMS. 259 

the founder of Jainism. Also called Jnatapu'tra in skt. and 
Natapu'tta in Jaina Prakrit. 

Va'rsha, skt., Va'ssa, f., rain, rainy season. During the rainy 
season of Northern India, which falls in the months from June 
to October, the shramanas could not wander about, but had to 
stay in one place. It was the time in which the disciples 
gathered round their master, listening to his instructions. Thus 
it became the festive time of the year. In Ceylon, where these 
same months are the fairest season of the year, Buddhists 
come together and live in temporary huts, holding religious 
meetings in the open air, reading the Pitakas and enjoying the 
jatakas, legends, and parables of Buddhism. [See Rhys Da- 
vids's B., p. 57.] 

Varshaka'ra, skt., Vassakara, f. , lit. "rain-maker." Name of a Brah- 
man, the prime minister of the king of Magadha. — 192, 193. 

Va'runa, skt. and f. , a. Brahman deity, the god of heaven and re- 
gent of the sea ; one of the guardians of the world. — 120. 

Vasavada'tta, skt. and^. , a courtesan of Mathura. — 179, 180. 

Vasi'shtha, skt. , Vase'ttha, j>., name of a Brahman. — 117, 120. 

Ve'das, 39, 118, 119; I know all the Vedas, 139. 

Venuva'na, skt. , Veluva'na, j>. , a bamboo-grove at Rajagriha, 58, 
204 ; Venuvana vihara, 95. 

Viha'ra, skt. and j>. , residence of Buddhist monks or priests ; a 
Buddhist convent or monastery; a Buddhist temple. — 63, 64, 
80, 95, 100, 102, 190, 216. 

Vi'mala, skt. andjJ. (etym., the spotless), name of a friend of Ya- 
shas. — 48. 

Vi'naya, 49. 

Visha'kha, skt. , Visa'kha, ^ , a wealthy matron of Shravasti, one 
of Buddha's most distinguished woman lay-disciples. Says 
Oldenberg, Buddha, English translation, p. 167; "Everyone 
invites Visakha to sacrificial ceremonies and banquets, and has 
the dishes offered to her first ; a guest like her brings luck to 
the house." — 79, 80, 82, 83 ; eight boons of Vishakha, 80 ; glad- 
ness of Vishakha, 82, 83. 

Vri'ji, skt., Va'jji, $., name of a people living in the neighborhood 
of Magadha, 100, 192, 193 ; assemblies of the Vriji, 192. 

Ya'ma, skt. and $., also called Yama-ra'ja, death, the god of 
death — 183, 184. 

Ya'shas, skt., Ya'sa, j> , the noble youth of Benares, son of a wealthy 
man and one of Buddha's earliest converts — 45, 48. 



26o THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA 

Yasho'dhard, skt. Yaso'dhara, f. , wife of Prince Gautama Sid- 
dhartha before he became Buddha. She became one of the 
first of Buddhist nuns. [See Jataka, 87-90 ; Commentary on 
Dhammapada, vv 168, 169 : Bigandet, 156-168 ; Spence 
Hardy's Manual, 198-204 , Beal, pp. 360-364 : B. Birth Sto- 
ries, 127.] — ii, 66-69, 77 > 78, 95- 



PRONUNCIATION. 
Pronounce : 

a as the Italian and German u as 00 in good. 
short a. u as u in r«mor. 

a as a in father. ai as in eye. 

e as e in tmt. au as ow in how. 

e as e in nght. n as ny. 

i as i in tut. jn as dny. 

i as i in macb'ne. fin as n-ny. 

o as o in let. ch as ch in church. 

6 as in heme. cch as ch-ch in rich <r/zance 

s, j, y, and other letters, as usual in English words. 

Double consonants are pronounced as two distinct sounds, e. g. , 
ka'm-ma, not ka'ma. 

The h after/, b, k, g, t, dis audible as in du£ h\m, beg her, bric>£ 
house, ant kill. Pronounce Tat-hagata, not Ta-thagata. 

To the average European it is difficult to catch, let alone to 
imitate, the difference of sound between dotted and non-dotted let- 
ters. All those who are desirous for information on this point 
must consult Sanskrit and Pali grammars. 

Lest the reader be unnecessarily bewildered with foreign-look- 
ing dots and signs, which after all are no help to him, all dotted 
t, d, m, n, and italicised t, d, m, n have been replaced in the text of 
the book by t, d, m, n , n, 25, dotted r and italicised s have been 
transcribed by ny, nny, ri, and sh, while the Glossary preserves 
the more exact transcription. 

We did not follow the spelling of the Sacred Books of the East, 
where it must be misleading to the uninitiated, especially when 
they write italicised If to denote spelling of the English sound ch, 
and italicised g to denote j Thus we write " raja," not "ra^a," 
and "Chunda,"' not "A'unda." 



INDEX. 



Abstain from impurity, 106. 

Abstinence, 39. 

Abode in me, truth has taken its, 140. 

Abodes of truth, 63. 

Abolish all the lesser, 220. 

Abolished, omens, 151. 

About to pass away, 216. 

Absolution, 84. 

Abuse, the sermon on, 145. 

According to their deeds, 188. 

Address, Buddha's farewell, 204. 

Adoration be to thee, 150. 

Aim, one, one essence, one law, 141. 

Aim, the one, Nirvfina, 142. 

Aim, the preacher's sole, 108. 

All creatures received the message 
in their own language, 41. 

Alone, let a man walk, 88 (see also 
Solitary) . 

Altercations, 86. 

Always in danger of death, 188. 

Ambrosia, lake of, 98. 

Angels rejoice, 8. 

Anger, by love overcome, 115. 

Annihilation, 124, 125. 

Annihilation of egotism, 126. 

Annihilation, Simha's question con- 
cerning, 124. 

Another Buddha will arise, 218. 

Anxious to learn, must be, 207. 

Anxious to learn the truth, be, 106. 

Apoplexy, struck by, 169. 

Appearance of Bodhisattva, 19. 

Appearance, the glory of his, 189. 

Appeared, the saviour, 229. 

Appeased not by hatred, hatred, 87. 

Are all paths saving paths? 118. 

Artisans, the chief of the, 179. 



Asceticism, 196. 
Ascetics, naked, 75. 
Assemblies of the Vriji, 192. 
Assemblies, various kinds of, 156. 
Assured of final salvation, 221. 
Astrology and forecasting by signs 

forbidden, 210. 
Atman and the /, 26. 
Atone for your evil deeds, you will 

have to, 178. 
Atonement by blood, 132. 
Audience, like unto the color of my, 

156. 
Avoid dying, not any means to, 187. 



Bad deeds easy to do, 112. 

Bamboo grove, 122. 

Bathing in the Ganges, n. 

Battle is better, death in, 208. 

Battle of life, 128. 

Battle, the elephant no longer fit for, 

145. 

Battles, fight your, 129. 

Be married unto the truth, 181. 

Be ye lamps unto yourselves, 206. 

Beauty, to restore to you a nobler, 180. 

Becoming, gradual, 138. 

Bee collects nectar, the, 115. 

Being, the purpose of, 228. 

Beings, preach to all, 109. 

Beneath, water gurgling, 172. 

Best, truth is, 42. 

Better bore out both eyes, 79. 

Blessed One, has to suffer, the, 205; 
Blessed One, refuge in the, 129, 130, 
140, 220 ; Blessed One swooned, the, 
28; Blessed One walked unshod, 



262 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



the, 94 , Blessed One, wearisome to 

the, 199. 
Blind man, 21. 
Blind men, 119. 
Blind received sight, 7. 
Blind, the man born, 159. 
Blind, truth is hidden to the, 226. 
Blind, your eyes are, 166. 
Bliss be diffused, let the, 168. 
Bliss, the communication of, 167. 
Bliss where suffering is, 16. 
Blood, atonement by, 132. 
Blood has no cleansing power, 132. 
Blood, shedding of, 26. 
Blow, give the rock a good, 172. 
Blow off the impurities, 115. 
Body of flesh? Why preserve this, 217. 
Body of the law, 140 ; the body of the 

law will endure, 217. 
Body, the worldling nourishes his, 

167. 
Bonds that tie all souls together, 232. 
Boons of Vishahka. eight, 80. 
Brahma, 69, 118. 
Brahman, 58, 117, 118, 119, 120, 131, 

132, 133. 136, 137, 146, 164, 165, 166, 

168, 173, 174, 175, 183, 184, 185, 192, 

193, 195. 
Brahman lore, the substance of, 119. 
Bridler of men's hearts, 200. 
Bright, the sun is, 117. 
Bright, thinkers are, 117; warriors 

are bright, 117. 
Bubble, 31. 
Buddhahood, omens of, 8, 9 ; signs of 

Buddhahood, 8. 
Burning, everything is, 52. 
Burning mansion, the, 158. 
Butterfly, like the, 211. 
By deeds one becomes an outcast, 174. 

Calamities, ten great, 191. 

Carp not, 106, 107. 

Cart, as a worn out, 206. 

Cast-off rags, 75, yy. 

Caste, I ask not for, 174. 

Cause of further migrations, 99. 

Cause of selfhood, the. Found I 33. 

Cease by hatred, hatred does not, 115. 

Ceremony, 125, 196. 

Chance, 61. 



Change, grief at, 14 ; self is change, 
138. 

Charcoal, 185. 

Charity, rich in returns, 20 ; the ser- 
mon on, 63. 

Charms are treacherous, 180. 

Chastity, 106. 

Che, 101, 103. 

Cherish no hatred, 106. 

Chickens should break the egg-shell, 
122. 

Chief of the artisans, the, 179. 

Children, I am your father, ye are, 
140. 

Children of truth, clay can be changed 
into, 131. 

City of Nirvana, the, no. 

Clay can be changed into the chil- 
dren of truth, 131. 

Cleanses from sin, the truth, 223. 

Cleansing power, blood has no, 132. 

Cleaving to self, 137. 

Cloth of gold, robes of, 213. 

Cloud, like a, 142. 

Cloud of good qualities, no. 

Cloud of error, 217. 

Coil, the, 31. 

Color of my audience, like unto the, 
156. _ 

Combination, individuality a, 25; 
combination subject to separation, 
25- 

Come forth into the light, 122. 

Come into the world to befriend, 190. 

Come to teach life, 133. 

Commandments, the ten, 105. 

Communication of bliss, the, 167. 

Complete surrender of self, 127. 

Compounds will be dissolved, 217. 

Comprehension of things, truth the 
correct, 34. 

Concord, two ways of re-establish- 
ing, 89; meeting in concord, 193; 
re-establishment of concord, 88. 

Conditions of welfare, eight, 192, 193, 
194- 

Conduct, upright, 194. 

Confer the ordination, 49. 

Confession of trespasses, 84. 

Conquerors, the greatest of, in. 

Conquest of self, 128. 



INDEX, 



263 



Consolidation of Buddha's religion, 

75- 
Contact of the object and senses, 54. 
Contemplation, earnest, 194. 
Continuity, sameness and, 137. 
Coop, the fowl in the, 103. 
Correct comprehension of things, 

truth the, 34. 
Correlatives, r6. 
Courtesan, 81, 179, 201-204. 
Covet not, 106. 
Crane, the wild, 103 ; the cruel crane, 

162. 
Creatures, all, received the message 

in their own language, 41. 
Criminal, punishment of the, 126. 
Criminal's act, punishment the fruit 

of the, 127. 
Crossed the river, 196. 
Crossed the stream, he had, 189. 
Cultivate good-will, 55. 
Culture of the mind, 70. 

Danger of death, always in, 188. 

Dangers hang over Pataliputra, 
three, 196. 

Dark, do not call the world, 166. 

Dart of lust, the, 161. 

Dead are many, the, 187. 

Dead not saved by lamentation, 188. 

Deaf and dumb speak, the, 8. 

Death, always in danger of, 188; Bud- 
dha' s death, 218; fate after death, 
188, 189 ; death is near, 208 ; no es- 
cape from, 13 ; death in battle is 
better, 208; in the domain of death, 
103; self is death, 133, 138, 140; 
thoughtlessness, the path of death, 
112. 

Deeds, according to their, 188 ; bad 
deeds easy to do, 112 ; by deeds 
one becomes an outcast, 174; passed 
away according to his deeds, 172, 

Deeper, dig, 109. 

Delusion and truth, 31. 

Delusions, 39. 

Denies the existence of the soul, Gau- 
tama, 130. 

Desert, a waterless, 120; rescue in 
the desert, 169 ; a sandy desert, 170, 

Desire, the extinction of sinful, 116. 



Desolation, a hopeless, 120. 

Despot, the, 178. 

Destiny of warriors, 128. 

Destroyed, hell is, 199. 

Dfivadatta, sect of, 95. 

Die until, etc., I shall not, 208 ; truth 
cannot die, 217. 

Died in the faith, he, 184. 

Diffused, let the bliss be, 168. 

Dig deeper, 109. 

Disciple, the first woman lay-, 48. 

Disciple, a, flagged, 169. 

Dissatisfied, the people, 59. 

Dissolution, necessity of, 222. 

Dissolved, compounds will be, 217. 

Distinction, without, 142. 

Doctrine, preach the, glorious in the 
beginning, the middle, and end, 
49 ; my doctrine is like the great 
ocean, 156; doctrine like unto fire, 
157 ; doctrine like unto water, 157. 

Doffed their robes, the bhikshus, 80. 

Dog, the hungry, 176. 

Domain of death, in the, 103. 

Do not call the world dark, 166. 

Do not rely on external help, 206. 

Do not scold, 89. 

Door of immortality, 36. 

Draught-ox, exertion is a, 173. 

Drink, the refreshing, perception of 
truth, 98. 

Drinking? Is the water not fit for, 
143- 

Dumb, the deaf and, speak, 8. 

Dust, like one who flings, 146. 

Dust of worldliness, 36. 

Dwelling-place, wisdom has no, 133. 

Dying, not any means to avoid, 187. 

Each day one hemp-grain, 27. 
Earnest contemplation, 194. 
Earnestness is the goad, 173; earnest- 
ness is the path of immortality, 112. 
Earth, peace on, 8. 
Earthquake, 222. 
East, face towards the, 194. 
Eating of flesh, the, 39. 
Ecstasy, the song of, 197, 198. 
Eddies of transmigration, 144. 
Efficacy, rituals have no, 27. 
Egg-shell, chickens should break the, 



264 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



122; I have first broken the egg- 
shell, 221. 

Eggs, hen brooding over, 122. 

Ego, the, 24 ; ego, an illusion, 26; the 
instability of the ego, 41. 

Egotism, the annihilation of, 126. 

Eight boons of VishakhS, 80. 

Eight conditions of welfare ; 192, 193, 
194. 

Eight wonderful qualities, 156, 157. 

Eightfold path, the, 33, 122, 211. 

Eightfold, the best way is the, 116. 

Eldest, I am the, 221. 

Elephant, powerful, 144; the elephant 
no longer fit for battle, 145. 

Elevate the mind, 74. 

Emaciated from fasts, 207. 

Embrace of truth, the, 181. 

Empire, the wheel of, 207. 

Emptiness and immaterial life, 23. 

Enabled me to do so, faith, 190. 

Endure, thoughts will, 112. 

Enemy, his greatest, 115. 

Enlightened Teacher, refuge in the, 
123. 

Entities, souls not separate and self- 
existent, 132. 

Envy not, 106. 

Epidemic, 101. 

Eradication of self, 126. 

Error, self an, 55 ; error be thou my 
guide, 231. 

Errors, 107. 

Escape from death, no, 13. 

Essence of life, truth is the, 231 ; one 
in essence, 232 ; one essence, one 
law, one aim, 141. 

Eternal, truth the image of the, 3. 

Everlasting life, 128, 182. 

Evil actions, thou canst not escape 
the fruit of, 139. 

Everything is burning, 52. 

Evil by good, overcome, 115 ; evil 
deeds, you will have to atone for 
your, 178; ignorance the root of 
evil, 31 ; pain is the outcome of 
evil, 113 ; evil powers no surrender, 
127. 

Evolution, 138 ; in the course of evo- 
lution, 228. 

Exertion is a draught-ox, 173. 



Existence is spiritual, all, 130; thirst 

for existence and selfhood, 30. 
Expulsion, sentence of, 85, 86. 
External help, do not rely on, 206. 
Extinction of self, the, salvation, 4; 

the extinction of sinful desire, 116; 

the extinction of thirst, 116. 
Eye, the, Stman and, 26 ; eye of truth, 

45 ; mental eye, 186 ; spiritual eye, 

227. 
Eyes, better bore out both, 79. 

Face to face, Brahma, 118 ; the uni- 
verse face to face, 121 ; face to face 
with him, 220. 

Face towards the east, 194. 

Facing towards the west, 195. 

Faith alone can save, 190 ; faith en- 
abled me to do so, 190 ; great is thy 
faith, 198 ; lineage of the faith, 198; 
hast thou faith, 209 ; he died in the 
faith, 184 ; faith is the seed, 173 ; 
faith in the Buddha, 200; Sharipu- 
tra's faith, 197; such faith have I, 
197. 

Falter not, wise people, 112. 

Famine, 100. 

Farewell address, Buddha's, 204. 

Fashion themselves, wise people, 112 

Fashioned, truth cannot be, 231. 

Fasts, emaciated from, 207. 

Fate after death, 188, 199. 

Father, 158, 159; father and son, 184; 
I reverence my father, 123 ; ye are 
my children, I am your father, 140. 

Fault, found no 208. 

Faults of others, the, 114, 115. 

Fell upon him, sickness, 204, 211, 212. 

Fetch me some water, 212. 

Fever, self is a, 42. 

Few, the living are, 187. 

Fight your battles, 129. 

Fire, doctrine like unto, 157. 

Fire, sermon on, 52. 

First broken the egg-shell, I have, 221. 

First Buddha, I am not the, 217. 

First lay-member, the, 47. 

First women lay-disciples, the, 48. 

Fish, the giddy. 161. 

Fit for battle, the elephant no longer, 
145- 



INDEX. 



265 



Fit for drinking? Is the water now, 
143. 

Fit to live, more, 128. 

Five meditations, 153. 

Five roots of mind, the, 23. 

Five wishes of Bimbisara, 56. 

Fivefold gain, 195; fivefold loss, 195. 

Flagged, a disciple, 169. 

Flagging, religious zeal, 29. 

Flame, sameness of the, 135. 

Flesh, the eating of, 39 ; thorn in the, 
116 ; let the flesh waste away, 208 ; 
why preserve this body of flesh? 217. 

Flings dust, like one who, 146. 

Flowers out of season, 216 ; lotus flow- 
ers, 30; mandara flowers, 8. 

Following the Master over the 
stream, 189. 

Fool, 113 ; the listless fool, 168. 

Foolish, pleasures destroy the, 114 ; 
foolish talk, 119. 

Forbidden, miracles, 99-101. 

Forecasting by signs forbidden, as- 
trology and, 210. 

Found no fault, 208 ; found! the cause 
of selfhood, 33 ; found the truth, 43. 

Foundation of the Kingdom of Right- 
eousness, 37, 

Four kinds of offering, 165; four kinds 
of merit, 164 ; four simples, 160 ; the 
four quarters, 121 ; the four noble 
truths, 32, 160 ; the four signs, 12 ; 
where four roads cross, 118. 

Fowl in the coop, the, 103. 

Fragrant like the lotus, 180. 

Free your mind of ignorance, 106. 

Fruit of evil actions, thou canst not 
escape the, 139 ; the fruit of immor- 
tality, 173 ; the fruit of the crim- 
inal's act punishment, 127. 

Fruits, ripe, 188. 

Gain, fivefold, 195. 

Ganges, bathing in the, II. 

Gautama Gate, 196. 

Giddy fish, the, 161. 

Gift of religion, the, 116. 

Gift, the king's, 57. 

Give also to the Nigranthas, 130; give, 

if thou art asked, 115 ; give the rock 

a good blow, 172. 



Gives away, he who, etc., 215. 

Giving away, 63. 

Glad tidings, 1. 

Gladness of Vishikha, 82, 83. 

Glorious in the beginning, middle, 
and end, preach the doctrine, 49; 
the truth is glorious, 46, 47, 56. 

Glory of his appearance, the, 189 ; the 
truth in all its glory, 229. 

Goad, earnestness is the, 173. 

Goal, the, 99, 117. 

Gods and men, teacher of, 200. 

Goes out to wage war, no. 

Gold, robes of cloth of, 213. 

Gone into the yoke, 116. 

Good qualities, cloud of, no; happi- 
ness is the outcome of good, 113; 
overcome evil by good, 1:5; good 
tidings, 16; cultivate good-will, 55; 
good works are rain, 173. 

Governs all things, karma, 101. 

Grace, the time of, 161, 170. 

Gradual becoming, 138. 

Grant me my life, 164. 

Great is thy faith, 198. 

Great understanding, muni of, 148. 

Greatest enemy, his, 114; the greatest 
of conquerors, in. 

Greedy tailor, the, 162. 

Grief at change, 14 ; overcome grief, 
206 ; selfish in my grief, 187. 

Grounded, that it be well, 198. 

Grove, bamboo, 122. 

Guide, error be thou my, 231. 

Guiding-rein, mind is the, 173. 

Happily, let us live, 119. 

Happiness is the outcome of good, 

113 ; vanity of worldly happiness, 2. 
Happy, he is altogether, 122; make 

thyself happy, 209. 
Hard times teach a lesson, 103. 
Harvest Nirvana, the, 173 ; thou wilt 

reap the harvest sown in the past, 

138. 
Hast thou faith? 209. 
Hatred appeased not by hatred, 87; 

cherish no hatred, 106 ; hatred 

ceases by love, 115; hatred does 

not cease by hatred, 115. 
He promoted him higher, 160. 



266 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



He who gives away, etc., 215. 

He who walks righteously is ever 
near me, 218. 

Hearts, bridler of men's, 200. 

Heaven, hope of, a mirage, 102 ; like 
one who spits at heaven, 146; pleas- 
ures of self in heaven, 133. 

Heavenly songs, 216. 

Hell is destroyed, 199. 

Helmet of right thought, 79. 

Help, do not rely on external, 206 ; 
now my lot to help, 191. 

Hemp-grain, each day one, 27. 

Hen brooding over eggs, 122. 

Hereafter, the, 139. 

Heresies, 61. 

Hermit, layman and, 46. 

Higher, he promoted him, 160. 

Hold fast to the truth, 206. 

Holiness better than sovereignty, 21. 

Homage, worthiest, 216. 

Honor, so great an, 202. 

Honored be his name, 57. 

Hope of heaven a mirage, 102. 

Hopeless desolation, a, 120. 

Householder, 158. 

Hungry dog, parable of the, 176. 

I am not the first Buddha, 217 ; I am 
the eldest, 221 ; I am the truth, 141; 
I am thirsty, 212 ; I ask not for caste, 
174 ; I have first broken the egg- 
shell, 221 ; no room for the I, 54 ; 
I reverence my father, 123 ; I shall 
not die until, etc., 208; such faith 
have I, 197 ; the I perishable, 54 ; 
the I, the soul, 23 ; the thought of I, 
24 ; the transmission of the soul and 
the I, 25. 

Idea of self, the, 217. 

Identity, 135 ; identity and non-iden- 
tity, 131, 135; identity of self, 137; 
where is the identity of myself? 
134- 

Idle talk, invocations are, 139. 

If thou art asked, give, 115. 

Ignorance, free your mind of, 106 ; 
ignorance the root of evil, 31. 

Illimitable light, 232. 

Illusion, self an, 34, 128; the ego an 
illusion, 26. 



Illustration by a lamp, 135 ; illustra- 
tion by a letter, 134. 

Image of the eternal, truth the, 3. 

Immaterial life, emptiness and, 23. 

Immeasurable light, 98. 

Immolation, 132. 

Immortal, life, 99; the immortal path, 
64. 

Immortality, 60, 66, 187 ; door of im- 
mortality, 36; earnestness is the 
path of immortality, 112 ; immor- 
tality in transiency, 3 ; immortal- 
ity in truth, 133, 140; the fruit of 
immortality, 173 ; the water of im- 
mortality, 128 ; truth and immortal- 
ity, 6. 

Immutable, the words of Buddha, 15. 

Impure is nakedness, 80, 82. 

Impurity, abstain from, 106; purity 
and impurity belong to oneself, in 

Impurities, blow off the, 115. 

In the course of evolution, 228. 

Incantations, 122 ; incantations have 
no saving power, 27. 

Incarnation of the truth, 225. 

Individuality a combination, 25 ; the 
wheel of individuality, 53. 

Inexhaustible life, 152. 

Instability of the ego, the, 41. 

Instruction, words of, 148. 

Instrumentalities, 52. 

Invocations, 120 ; invocations are idle 
talk, 139. 

Is it wrong to go to war ? 126. 

Jewel, a, 225 ; precious crown jewel, 

no. 
Jewels and worldliness, 46. 
Jungle, a pathless, 120. 

Karma governs all things, 101. 

Keep my hold on life, 204. 

Kill not, 106. 

King Bimbisfira, 19, 20, 54, 76, 97. 

King of kings, 224 ; king of truth, no, 
141 ; powerful king, no. 

Kingdom of Righteousness, Founda- 
tion of the, 37, 43. 

Kingdom of truth, 38, 217. 

King's gift, the, 57. 

Kings, Naga, 8. 



INDEX. 



267 



King's seal, stamp of a, 184. 
Knew me not, they, 157. 
Knowledge remains, 134. 
Kusa-grass, 172. 



Lake of Ambrosia, 98. 

Lake, still, like a, 113. 

Lame walk, the, 8. 

Lamentation, dead not saved by, 188. 

Lamp, illustration by a. 135. 

Lamps unto yourselves, be ye, 206. 

Land, pure, 152, 153. 

Language, all creatures received the 
message in their own, 41. 

Last word, 222. 

Law, body of the, 140 ; one aim, one 
essence, one law, 141 ; the law the 
body of the Tathagata, 225 ; the 
body of the law will endure, 217. 

Laws are temporary, many, 226. 

Laws of righteousness, obedience to 
the, 132. 

Lay disciples, the first women, 48. 

Lay member, the first, 47. 

Lay robes, yy. 

Layman and hermit, 46. 

Layman, priest and, alike, 74. 

Leaning against the lintel, 216. 

Learn, must be anxious to, 207. 

Learning, availeth not, 139. 

Lesser, abolish all the, 220. 

Lesson given to Rahula, 143. 

Lesson, hard times teach a, 103. 

Let a man walk alone, 88. 

Let the bliss be diffused, 168. 

Let the flesh waste away, 208. 

Let us go into the world, 223. 

Let us live happily, 117. 

Let us obey the truth, 226. 

Let your light shine forth, 95. 

Letter, illustration by a, 134. 

Letter, in the, 89. 

Lie not, 106. 

Life, battle of, 128; come to teach, 
133; life everlasting, 128, 182; grant 
me my life, 164 ; keep my hold on 
life, 204 ; life immortal, 99 ; inex- 
haustible life, 152 ; reason in the 
struggle for life, 228 ; seek thou the 
life that is of the mind, 133 ; truth 



is life, 133 ; life yearns for the truth, 
231 ; what is life in this world? 208. 

Light, come forth into the, 122; il- 
limitable light, 232 ; immeasurable 
light, 98 ; let your light shine forth, 
95- 

Like a still lake, 113. 

Like unto the color of my audience, 
156. 

Lily, the, on a heap of rubbish, 117. 

Lineage of the faith, 198. 

Lintel, leaning against the, 216. 

Listen to both parties, 89. 

Listless fool, the, 168. 

Little by little, 161. 

Live happily, let us, 117. 

Live, more fit to, 128. 

Lives of men, 176. 

.Living are few, the, 187. 

Living, luxurious, 166. 

Living in paradise, 184. 

Lobster, 163. 

Locality? is wisdom a, 133. 

Locality, Nirvana not a, 134. 

Logic holds universally, 136. 

Lord, glorious, 129, 219. 

Lord, pass away, 209. 

Loss, fivefold, 195. 

Lost, a treasure that can never be, 
150. 

Lost son, the, 160. 

Lot to help, now my, 191. 

Lotus-flower in water, the, 40, 62, 99. 

Lotus-flowers, 30, 78. 

Lotus, fragrant like the, 180. 

Love, hatred ceases by, 115; love of 
truth, 128 ; overcome anger by love, 
115 ; the world filled with love, 121. 

Lust, the dart of 161. 

Luxurious living, i56. 

Macarisms, 34, 35, 42, 149. 

Made up of thoughts, in. 

Magic power, 100. 

Main, rivers reach the, 199. 

Make thyself happy, 209. 

Maker, Ishvara, the, 60, 61. 

Maker, the, self, 60. 

Man, a blind, 21. 

Man born blind, the, 159. 

Man, who is the strong? 105. 



268 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



Mango-grove, 117, 197, 211. 

Mansion, the burning, 158. 

Many, the dead are, 187. 

Married unto the truth, be, 181. 

Master, out of reverence for the, 221. 

Master over the stream, following 
the, 189. 

May be expected to prosper, Sangha, 
194- 

Me, this is done by, 112. 

Meats remained undiminished, 181. 

Medicines, 75, 186, 218. 

Meditation (see bhavana and sati- 
patthana in the Glossary), 30, 153, 
an. 

Meeting in concord, 193. 

Men, blind, 119 ; teacher of gods and 
men, 200 ; the lives of men, 176. 

Men's hearts, bridler of, 200. 

Mental eye, 186. 

Merit, four kinds of, 164. 

Merit, the order (sangha) the sowing- 
ground of, 200. 

Message in their own language, all 
creatures received the, 41. 

Migrations, cause of further, 99. 

Mind, Brahma's, 120 ; culture of the, 
70; elevate the mind, 74; mind is 
the guiding rein, 173 ; seek thou the 
life that is the mind, 133 ; the five 
roots of mind, 23 ; there is mind, 
130. 

Miracle-mongers, 152. 

Miracles, 151. 

Miracles forbidden, 99-101. 

Mirage, hope of heaven a, 102. 

Mirage, the cause of self a, 42. 

Mirror of truth, the, 199, 200. 

Mission, the preachers, 107. 

Moon, the, shines by night, 117. 

Moral powers, 82. 

Moral sense, 82. 

More fit to live, 128. 

More, sin no, 161. 

Mortification not the right path, 28. 

Mortification profitless, 39. 

Mortification vain, 40. 

Mother, a, 55, 99. 

Muni of great understanding, 148, 150. 

Mustard seed, the, 185, 187. 



Naked ascetics, 75. 

Nakedness, impure is, 80, 82. 

Name, honored be his, 57. 

Nature of religion consists in wor- 
ship and sacrifice, the, 131. 

Nature of the rope, the, 55. 

Nature of self, the, 54. 

Near, death is, 208. 

Near me, he who walks righteously 
is ever, 218. 

Necessity of dissolution, 222. 

Nectar, the bee collects, 115. 

Needed, the one thing that is, 132, 
217. 

Noble, eightfold path, the, 211, 231. 

Noble truths, the four, 32. 

Non-action, 124, 125. 

Non-existence of the soul, 132. 

Non-identity, identity and, 131, 135. 

Not any means to avoid dying, 187. 

Not worthy of yellow robes, 88. 

Nothing remains, 140. 

Nothing will remain, 199. 

Nothingness stares me in the face, 
132, 

Nourishes his soul, the wise man, 
167. 

Novices, precepts for the, 104. 

Now is the time to seek religion, 16. 

Now my lot to help, 191. 

Obedience to the laws of righteous- 
ness, 132. 

Obey the truth, let us, 226. 

Object and senses, contact of, 54. 

Observe the Upavasatha or Sabbath, 
105. 

Ocean, 199; rivers in the ocean, 190; 
my doctrine is like the great ocean, 
156. 

Ottering, four kinds of, 165. 

Omens abolished, 151. 

Omens of Buddhahood, 9. 

One hemp-grain each day, 27. 

One in essence, 232. 

One, the truth is but, 116, 142, 231. 

One thing that is needed, the, 132, 217. 

Oneself, purity and impurity belong 
to, III. 

Order, rules for the, 105. 



INDEX. 



269 



Order, the, (sangha) the sowing- 
ground of merit, 200. 

Ordination, 46, 48, 49 [see also Pra- 
vrajya and Upasampada in the 
Glossary]. 

Others art thou thyself, 139. 

Others, the faults of, 114, 115. 

Our water is all gone, 171. 

Outcast, the, 174 ; by deeds one be- 
comes an outcast, 174 ; who is an 
outcast? 174. 

Outcome of evil, pain is the, 113. 

Outcome of good, happiness is the, 
«3- 

Outwitted, 164. 

Overcome anger by love, 115. 

Overcome evil by good, 115. 

Overcome grief, 206. 

Ox led to slaughter, 188. 

Pain is the outcome of evil, 113. 

Parable, 144, 158, 168. 

Parable of the hungry dog, 176. 

Paradise in the West, the, 152 ; living 
in paradise, 184 ; the paradise of 
the pure land, 153. 

Parties, listen to both, 89. 

Party in search of a thief, a, 182. 

Pass away, about to, 216 ; pass away 
Lord, 209 ; pass away now, 208 ; 
people pass away, 188 ; the truth 
will never pass away, 131. 

Passed away according to his deeds, 
172. 

Passion, rain and, 112. 

Past, thou wilt reap the harvest sown 
in the, 138. 

Path of transmigration, weary, 211 ; 
sign of the right, 121 ; the eightfold, 
33 ; the immortal path, 64 ; the no- 
ble eightfold path, 122, 211, 231 ; 
mortification not the path, 28; walk 
in the noble path, 139 ; a pathless 
jungle, 120 ; are all paths saving? 
118. [See also Maggo in the Glos- 
sary.] 

Peace on earth, 8. 

Peacemaker, the, 175. 

Peak, Vulture's, 194. 

People dissatisfied, the, 59; people 
pass away, 188 ; wise people falter 



not, 112 ; wise people fashion them 
selves, 112. 

Perception of truth, the refreshing 
drink, 98. 

Perishable, the /, 54. 

Personalities of Buddha, the three, 
225. 

Pestilence, 102. 

Physician, 16, 160, 186; the best physi- 
cian, 147 ; without beholding the 
physician, 218. 

Pit, treasure laid up in a deep, 149. 

Pity me not, 21. 

Plantain-tree, 31. 

Playthings, 159. 

Pleasure, he who lives for, 113 ; let a 
man take pleasure in the dharma, 
149. 

Pleasures destroy the foolish, ir4 
pleasures of self in heaven, 133; 
why do we give up the pleasures of 
the world, isr ; religious wisdom 
lifts above pleasures, 185. 

Potter, r4i ; potter, vessels made by 
the, 188. 

Power, incantations have no, 27; 
magic power, 100. 

Powerful elephant, 144. 

Powerful king, no. 

Powers, moral, 82. 

Practise the truth, 139. 

Praise of all the Buddhas, the, 232. 

Prayers, 120; prayers vain repeti- 
tions, 27. 

Preach the doctrine, glorious in the 
beginning, middle, and end, 49 ; 
preach to all beings, 109. 

Preacher's mission, the, 107; the 
preacher's sole aim, 108. 

Preachers, Tathagatas are only, in 

Precepts, 220 ; precepts for the nov- 
ices, 104 ; ten precepts, 104 ; walk 
according to the precepts, 216. 

Precious crown jewel, no. 

Precious jewel, a, 225. 

Priceless, the lives of men are, 176. 

Priest and layman alike, 74. 

Prince, test of the, 10. 

Problem of the soul, the, 23. 

Profitless, mortification, 39. 

Prohibitions, 101. 



270 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



Promoted him higher, he, 160. 

Propound the truth, 107. 

Prosper, sangha may be expected to, 
194. 

Prospered, bhikshus, 100. 

Punishment of the criminal, 126. 

Punishment, the fruit of the crim- 
inal's act, 127. 

Puppets on a string, 103. 

Pure land, the paradise of the, 152, 
153. 

Purity and impurity belong to one- 
self, in. 

Purpose of being, the, 228. 

Purpose, speak to the, 106. 

Qualities, cloud of good, no; eight 
wonderful qualities, 156, 157. 

Quality, the thing and its, 24. 

Quarrels, 86. 

Quarters, the four, 121 ; the six quar- 
ters, 122. 

Question concerning annihilation, 
124. 

Questioned, the sages, n 

Questions of the deva, 146. 

Rabbit rescued from the serpent, 21. 

Rags, cast-off, 75, 77. 

Rahula, lessons given to, 143. 

Rain and passion, 112. 

Rain fell, 80. 

Rain, good works are, 173. 

Rare in the world, 201. 

Real, truth makes things, 5. 

Reap the harvest sown in the past, 
thou wilt, 138. 

Reap what we sow, we, 132, 178. 

Reason, as the helpmate of self, 229. 

Reason in the struggle for life, 228. 

Reason, no truth is attainable with- 
out, 230. 

Reasoning ceases, 134. 

Rebirth without transmigration of 
self, 26. 

Rebuked, the bhikshus, 94. 

Received the message in their own 
language, all creatures, 41. 

Re-establishing concord, two ways 
of, 89. 

Re-establishment of concord, 88. 



Reform to-day, 103. 

Refreshing drink, the, perception of 
truth, 98. 

Refuge in the Blessed One, 129, 130, 
140, 220. 

Refuge in the Buddha, 46, 47, 52, 56, 
104, 146, 182, 183, 224, 230. 

Refuge in the Enlightened Teacher, 
123. 

Refuge is his name, 190. 

Rejoice, angels, 8. 

Religion, Buddha's, consolidation of, 
75 ; now is the time to seek religion, 
16; seeing the highest religion, 116; 
the gift of all religion, 116; the re- 
ligion of all Buddhas, 56; worship 
and sacrifice the nature of religion, 
131 ; thou tearest down religion, 
131- 

Religious man, the, and truth, 105; 
religious wisdom lifts above pleas- 
ures, 185 ; religious zeal flagging, 
29. 

Rely on yourselves, 206. 

Remain in thy station, 62 ; nothing 
will remain, 199 ; the truth will re- 
main, 217, 221. 

Repetitions, prayers vain, 27. 

Rescue in the desert, 169. 

Restore to you a nobler beauty, to, 
180. 

Revere the traditions, 227. 

Reverence for the Master, out of, 
221 

Reverence my father, I, 123. 

Rice-milk, 81. 

Rich in returns, charity, 20. 

Righteous cause, war in a, 127. 

Righteousness, foundation of the 
kingdom of, 37 ; source of all right- 
eousness, 98 ; the kingdom of right- 
eousness, 43 ; the throne of truth is 
righteousness, 230. 

Right path, mortification not the, 28. 

Right path, sign of the, 121. 

Right thought, helmet of, 79. 

Ripe fruits, 188. 

Rituals have no efficacy, 27. 

River, crossed the, 196. 

Rivers in the ocean, 190. 

Rivers reach the main, 199. 



INDEX. 



271 



Roads cross, where four, 11S. 

Robe of the Tathagata, 107. 

Robes, lay, 77; robes of cloth of gold, 

213; the bkikshus doffed their robes, 

80. 
Rock a good blow, give the, 172. 
Room for the /, no, 54. 
Root of evil, ignorance the, 31. 
Roots of mind, the five, 23. 
Rope, the nature of the, 55. 
Rubbish, the lily on a heap of, 117. 
Rules for the order, 105. 

Sabbath, 84 ; observe the Upavasatha 
or Sabbath, 105. 

Sacrifice, 27; sacrifice of self, 132; 
the nature of religion, worship and 
sacrifice, 131. 

Sacrifices, 26; sacrifices cannot save, 
139- 

Sages questioned, the, 1. 

Saint, a sinner can become a, 151. 

Salvation alone in the truth, 206, 2 7; 
assured of final, 221 ; salvation the 
extinction of self, 4 ; work out your 
salvation, 211, 221. 

Sameness and continuity, 137. 

Sandy desert, a, 170. 

Save, faith alone can, 190. 

Saving paths? Are all paths, 118. 

Saving power, incantations have no, 
27. 

Saviour of others, a, 141. 

Saviour appeared, the, 229. 

Saviour, truth the, 5, 42. 

Scepticism, 106, 107. 

Schism, the, 85. 

Scold, do not, 89. 

Search of a thief, a party in, 182. 

Season, flowers out of, 216. 

Season, rainy, 49, 204. 

Sect of Devadatta, 95. 

Seed, faith is the, 173. 

Seeing the highest religion, 116. 

Seek thou the life that is of the mind, 
133. 

Self, 60 ; self an error, 55 ; self an il- 
lusion, 34; self and the cause of 
troubles, 42; self and truth, 3, 33, 
127; self begets selfishness, 5; cleav- 
ing to self, 137; complete surrender 



of self, 127; eradication of self, 126; 
self-extinction, 132; identity of self, 
137; illusion of self, 123 ; pleasures 
of self in heaven, 133; self is a fever, 
42 ; self is change, 138; self is death, 
133- I 38, 140; self-mortification, 75 ; 
my self has become the truth, 141 ; 
reason as the helpmate of self, 229 ; 
rebirth without the transmigration 
of self, 26; sacrifice of self, 132; 
the cause of self a mirage, 42; the 
conquest of self, 128 ; the extinction 
of self, salvation, 4; the idea of self, 
217; self, the maker, 60; the nature 
of self, 54 ; self, the veil of Mayi, 
6; truth and self, 133 ; truth guards 
him who guards his self, in ; thou 
clingest to self, 102; where is the 
identity of my self, 134 ; which is 
the true self ? 138. 

Selfhood, the cause of, found, 33. 

Selfhood, thirst for existence and, 30. 

Selfish is my grief, 187. 

Selfishness, self begets, 5. 

Selfishness, surrender, 55. 

Sense, moral, 82. 

Senses and object, contact of, 54. 

Sentence of expulsion, 85, 86. 

Sentiency, truth vibrated through, 
228. 

Separation, combination subject to, 

25- 

Sermon on abuse, the, 145 ; the ser- 
mon on charity, 63 ; sermon on fire, 
52. 

Serpent, rabbit rescued from the, 21. 

Seven kinds of wisdom, 82. 

Sevenfold higher wisdom, 198. 

Shaveling, 174. 

Shedding of blood, 26. 

Shine forth, let your light, 95. 

Shines by night, the moon, 117. 

Sick bhikshu, the, 190, 191. 

Sickness fell upon him, 204, 211, 212. 

Sight, blind received, 7. 

Sign of the right path, 121. 

Signs forbidden, astrology and fore- 
casting by, 210; signs of Buddha- 
hood, 8 ; the four signs, 12. 

Sin appears sweet, 113. 

Sin no more, 161, 



272 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



Sin, struggle against, 211. 

Sin, the truth cleanses from, 223. 

Sinner can become a saint, a, 151. 

Six quarters, the, 122. 

Slaughter, 27. 

Slaughter, ox led to, 188. 

Smith, Chunda, the, 211, 214, 215. 

Snake, a wet rope no, 41. 

So great an honor, 202. 

Soldier, a, Simha, 126. 

Soldier of truth, a, 129. 

Soldiers of the TathSgata, no. 

Solitary, 116. 

Son, the lost, 160. 

Son, father and, 184. 

Song of ecstasy, 197, 198. 

Songs, heavenly, 216. 

Sorcerers, 152. 

Sorrow compared with a sword, 14. 

Soul, Gautama denies the existence 

of the, 130 ; non-existence of the 

soul, 132; the /the soul, 23; the 

problem of the soul, 23 ; the sum of 

the soul, 166. 
Souls not separate and self-existent 

entities, 132. 
Soup, a spoon tastes not the flavor 

of the, 169. 
Source of all righteousness, 98. 
Sovereign, make you, 207. 
Sovereignty, holiness better than, 21. 
Sow that you will reap, what you, 178. 
Sow, we reap what we, 132. 
Sower, Buddha the, 173. 
Sowest, others will reap what thou, 

139- 
Sowing-ground of merit, the order 

(sangha) the, 200. 
Speak, the deaf and dumb, 8. 
Speak to the purpose, 106. 
Speaking untruths, 144. 
Speculations, 116. 
Spells forbidden, 101. 
Spirit, in the, 89. 
Spiritual, all existence is, 130. 
Spiritual eye, 227. 
Spits at heaven, like one who, 146. 
Spoon, a, tastes not the flavor of the 

soup, 169. 
Spread the truth, 43. 
Staircase, a, 118. 



Stamp of a king's seal, 184. 

Stares me in the face, nothingness. 

132. 
Station, remain in thy, 62. 
Steal not, 106. 
Stream, following the Master over 

189. 
Stream, he had crossed the, 189. 
String, puppets on a, 103. 
Strong man, who is the ? 105. 
Struck by apoplexy, 169. 
Struggle against sin, 211. 
Struggle for life, reason in the, 228. 
Struggle must be, 127. 
Subject to separation, combination, 

25- 
Substance, the, of Brahman lore, 119. 
Such a one will wander rightly in the 

world, 148, 149. 
Such faith have I, 197. 
Suffer, the Blessed One had to, 205. 
Suffering, bliss where there is, 16. 
Sun is bright, the, 117. 
Sun of the soul, the, 166. 
Superstition, 122. 
Supplications forbidden, 101. 
Supplications have no effect, 151. 
Suprabuddha, 95. 
Surrender, 127. 
Surrender selfishness, 55. 
Surrender to evil powers, no, 127. 
Swear not, 106. 
Sweet, sin appears, 113. 
Swooned, the Blessed One, 28. 
Sword, sorrow compared with, 14. 

Tailor, the greedy, 162. 

Talents. [See AbhijiiS in the Glos- 
sary.] 

Talk, foolish, 119. 

Tastes not the flavor of the soup, a 
spoon, 169. 

Teach the same truth, 232. 

Teacher, Buddha the, in ; teacher of 
gods and men, 200; the teacher un- 
known, 156; we have no teacher 
more, 220. 

Temporary, many laws are, 226. 

Ten commandments, the, 105. 

Ten great calamities, 191. 

Ten precepts, 104. 



INDEX. 



273 



Terms of the world, such are the, 1S8. 

Test of the prince, xo. 

That it be well grounded, 198. 

There is mind, 130. 

They know me not, 157. 

Thief, a party in search of a, 182. 

Thinkers are bright, 117. 

Thing and its quality, the, 24. 

Things as they are, 55. 

Thirst for existence and selfhood, 30. 

Thirst, the extinction of, 116. 

Thirsty, I am, 212 ; water for the 
thirsty, 1. 

This is done by me, 112. 

Thorn in the flesh, 116. 

Thou art the Buddha, 129 ; thou canst 
not escape the fruit of evil actions, 
139 ; thou clingest to self, 102 ; thou 
tearest down religion, 131 ; thou 
wilt reap what thou sowest, 139. 

Thought, helmet of right, 79 ; the 
thought of /, 24 ; we the result of 
thought, in. 

Thoughtlessness the path of death, 
112. 

Thoughts continue, 134 ; made up of 
thoughts, in , thoughts of love, 121; 
thoughts will endure, ri2. 

Three dangers hang over Pataliputra, 
196. 

Three personalities of Buddha, the, 
225. 

Three vows, 44. 

Three woes, the, 11. 

Thyself, others art thou, 139. 

Tidings, glad, 1 ; good tidings, 16. 

Tie all souls together, bonds that, 232. 

Time of grace, the, 161, 170. 

Time to seek religion, now is the, 16. 

Times, hard, teach a lesson, 103, 

To-day, reform, 103. 

Together, bonds that tie all souls, 232. 

Toys, 159. 

Traditions, revere the, 227. 

Transiency, immortality in, 3. 

Transmigration, eddies of, 144 ; re- 
birth without the transmigration of 
self, 26 ; weary path of transmigra- 
tion, 211. 
Transmission of the soul and the /, 

25- 



Treacherous, charms are, 180. 

Treasure laid up in a deep pit, 149. 

Treasure that can never be lost, a, 
150. 

Trespasses, confession of, 84. 

Troubles, the cause of, and self, 42. 

Truly thou art Buddha, 123. 

Trumpeter, 121. 

Trust in truth, 2. 

Truth, a soldier of, 129 ; abodes of 
truth, 63 ; be anxious to learn the 
truth, 106 ; be married unto the 
truth, 181 ; Buddha the truth, 2, 217, 
227 ; clay can be changed into chil- 
dren of truth, 131 ; delusion and 
truth, 31 ; eye of truth, 43 ; glorious 
is the truth, 46, 47, 56 ; hold fast to 
the truth, 206 ; I am the truth, 141; 
immortality of truth, 133, 140, 182; 
incarnation of the truth, 225; king- 
dom of truth, 38, 217; let us obey 
the truth, 226 ; life yearns for the 
truth, 231 ; love of truth, 128 ; my 
self has become the truth, 141 ; no 
truth is attainable without reason, 
230 ; perception of truth, the re- 
freshing drink, 98 ; practise the 
truth, 139 ; propound the truth, 107; 
salvation alone in the truth, 206, 
207; spread the truth, 43 ; teach the 
same truth, 232 ; the embrace of 
truth, 181; the king of truth, no, 
141 ; the mirror of truth, 199, 200; 
the throne of truth is righteousness, 
230; the religious man and truth, 
105 ; the truth cleanses from sin, 
223 ; the truth found, 43 ; the truth 
has been made known to me, 220; 
the truth will never pass away, 131; 
the truth will remain, 217, 221 ; the 
world is built for truth, 230; there 
is but one truth, 116, 142; trust in 
truth, 2 ; truth and immortality, 6; 
truth and self, 3, 4, 33, 127, 133 ; truth 
cannot be fashioned, 231 ; truth can- 
not die, 217 ; truth dawns upon me, 
139 ; truth guards him who guards 
his self, in ; truth has taken its 
abode in me, 140; truth in all its 
glory, 29 ; truth is best, 42 ; truth is 
hidden to the blind, 226 : truth is 



274 



THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. 



life, 133 ; truth is one, 231 ; truth is 
the essence of life, 231 ; truth makes 
things real, 5; truth the correct com- 
prehension of all things, 34 ; truth 
the image of the eternal, 3 ; truth 
the saviour, 5, 42; truth vibrated 
through sentiency, 228. 

Truthful, be, 106. 

Truths, the four noble, 32, 160. 

Twelve nidSnas, the, 31. 

Two ways of re-establishing concord, 
89. 

Tyrant, 177. 

Unclean, the vessel has become, 144. 
Undiminished, meats remained, 181. 
Unguents, 75. 

Union of what we know not, 119. 
Union with Brahma, 120. 
Universally, logic holds, 136. 
Universe, face to face, 121. 
Unknown teacher, the, 156. 
Unshod, the Blessed One walked, 94. 
Untruths, speaking, 144. 
Upright conduct, 194. 

Vain, mortification, 40. 

Vain repetitions, prayers, 27. 

Vanities, 42. 

Vanity, 24, 102, 112, 114, 151 ; vanity of 

worldliness, 101 ; vanity of worldly 

happiness, 2. 
Various kinds of assemblies, 156. 
Veil of Maya, the, 178. 
Vessel has become unclean, the, 44. 
Vessels, 141 ; vessels made by the 

potter, 188. 
Vibrated through sentiency, truth, 228. 
Victor, the greater, 128. 
Vision a shramana, the, 15. 
Vows, three, 44. 
Vulture's Peak, 194. 

Walk according to the precepts, 216; 

let a man walk alone, 88 ; the lame 

walk, 8; walk in the right path, 139. 
Wander rightly in the world, such a 

one will, 148, 149. 
War, goes out to wage, no ; is it 

wrong to go to war ? 126 ; war in a 

righteous cause, 127. 



Warriors are bright, 117. 

Warriors, destiny of, 128. 

Water, doctrine like unto, 157 ; fetch 
me some water, 212 ; is the water 
now fit for drinking ? 143 ; our water 
is all goue, 171 i the lotus-flower in 
water, 40, 62, 99 ; water gurgling be- 
neath, 172 ; water for the thirsty, 1 ; 
the water of immortality, 128. 

Waterless desert, a, 120. 

Ways, the best of, is eightfold, 116. 

We have no teacher more, 220 ; we 
the result of thought, 111. 

Wearisome to the Blessed One, igg. 

Weary path of transmigration, 211. 

Welfare, eight conditions of, 192, 193, 
194. 

Well, the woman at the, 174. 

West, facing towards the. 195 ; the 
paradise in the West, 152. 

Wet rope, a, no snake, 41. 

What we know not, a union of, 119; 
what is life in this world ? 208 ; what 
you sow that you will reap, 178. 

Wheel, the, 41 ; the wheel of empire, 
207 ; the wheel of individuality, 53. 

Where does the wind dwell? 133; 
where four roads cross, 118 ; where 
is Nirvana ? 133 ; where is the iden- 
tity of my self ? 134. 

Which is the true self ? 138. 

Who is an outcast ? 174 ; who is the 
strong man ? 105. 

Why do we give up the pleasures of 
the world ? 151. 

Why preserve this body of flesh ? 217. 

Wild crane, the, 103. 

Wind, as a great, 134. 

Wind dwell ? where does the, 133. 

Wisdom has no dwelling-place, 133; 
is wisdom a locality? 133 ; religious 
wisdom lifts above pleasure, 185; 
seven kinds of wisdom, 82; seven- 
fold higher wisdom, 198. 

Wise man nourishes his soul, the, 167; 
wise people falter not, 112 ; wise 
people fashion themselves, 112. 

Wishes, five, of Bimbisara, 56. 

Without beholding the physician, 218, 

Woes, the three, n. 

Woman, a worldly, 203 ; if you see a 



INDEX. 



275 



woman, 78 ; the woman at the well, 

174. 

Women as a rule are, etc., 201; the 
first women lay-disciples, 48. 

Word, last, 222; word of the Buddhas, 
18. 

Words of Buddhas immutable, the, 
i5- 

Work out your salvation, 211, 221. 

World dark, do not call the, 166 ; 
world filled with love, 121 ; let us go 
into the world, 223 ; rare in the 
world, 201 ; such a one will wander 
rightly in the world, 148, 149 ; such 
are the terms of the world, 188 ; the 
world is built for truth, 230 ; come 
into the world to befriend, 190; 
what is life in this world ? 208 ; why 
do we give up the pleasures of the 
world ? 151. 

Worldliness, dust of, 36; jewels and 



worldliness, 46; vanity of worldli- 
ness, 101. 

Worldling nourishes his body, the, 
167. 

Worldly happiness, vanity of, 2; a 
worldly woman, 203. 

Worn-out cart, as a, 206. 

Worship, 27. 

Worship and sacrifice, the nature of 
religion, 131. 

Worthiest homage, 216. 

Worthy of yellow robes, not, 88. 

Yashas, 45, 46, 47, 48, 121. 
Yellow robes, not worthy of, 88. 
Yoke, gone into the, 116. 
Your eyes are blind, 166. 
Yourselves, be ye lamps unto, 206; 

rely on yourselves, 206 ; yourselves 

have known, 221. 

Zeal flagging, religious, 29. ' 



[Names and terms must be looked up in the Glossary, where references 
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